  The 2013 Planetary Science Decadal Survey identified a detailed investigation
of the Trojan asteroids occupying Jupiter's L4 and L5 Lagrange points as a
priority for future NASA missions. Observing these asteroids and measuring
their physical characteristics and composition would aid in identification of
their source and provide answers about their likely impact history and
evolution, thus yielding information about the makeup and dynamics of the early
Solar System. We present a conceptual design for a mission to the Jovian Trojan
asteroids: the Trojan ASteroid Tour, Exploration, and Rendezvous (TASTER)
mission, that is consistent with the NASA New Frontiers candidate mission
recommended by the Decadal Survey and the final result of the 2011 NASA-JPL
Planetary Science Summer School. Our proposed mission includes visits to two
Trojans in the L4 population: a 500 km altitude fly-by of 1999 XS143, followed
by a rendezvous with and detailed observations of 911 Agamemnon at orbital
altitudes of 1000 - 100 km over a 12 month nominal science data capture period.
Our proposed instrument payload - wide- and narrow-angle cameras, a visual and
infrared mapping spectrometer, and a neutron/gamma ray spectrometer - would
provide unprecedented high-resolution, regional-to-global datasets for the
target bodies, yielding fundamental information about the early history and
evolution of the Solar System. Although our mission design was completed as
part of an academic exercise, this study serves as a useful starting point for
future Trojan mission design studies. In particular, we identify and discuss
key issues that can make large differences in the complex trade-offs required
when designing a mission to the Trojan asteroids.
