In this paper, we assess the scientific promise and technology feasibility of distributed instruments for planetary science. A distributed instrument is an instrument designed to collect spatially and temporally correlated data from multiple networked, geographically distributed point sensors. Distributed instruments are ubiquitous in Earth science, where they are routinely employed for weather and climate science, seismic studies and resource prospecting, and detection of industrial emissions. However, to date, their adoption in planetary surface science has been minimal. It is natural to ask whether this lack of adoption is driven by low potential to address high-priority questions in planetary science; immature technology; or both. To address this question, we survey high-priority planetary science questions that are uniquely well-suited to distributed instruments. We identify four areas of research where distributed instruments hold promise to unlock answers that are largely inaccessible to monolithic sensors, namely, weather and climate studies of Mars; localization of seismic events on rocky and icy bodies; localization of trace gas emissions, primarily on Mars; and magnetometry studies of internal composition. Next, we survey enabling technologies for distributed sensors and assess their maturity. We identify sensor placement (including descent and landing on planetary surfaces), power, and instrument autonomy as three key areas requiring further investment to enable future distributed instruments. Overall, this work shows that distributed instruments hold great promise for planetary science, and paves the way for follow-on studies of future distributed instruments for Solar System in-situ science.

翻译：本文评估了分布式仪器在行星科学中的科学前景与技术可行性。分布式仪器是一种通过多个网络化、地理分布的点传感器收集时空关联数据的仪器系统。这类仪器在地球科学中已广泛应用，常规用于天气与气候科学研究、地震监测与资源勘探以及工业排放检测等领域。然而迄今为止，其在行星表面科学中的应用仍极为有限。这自然引出一个问题：这种应用缺失是由于其解决行星科学优先问题的潜力不足，还是技术尚未成熟，抑或是两者兼有？为探究此问题，我们系统梳理了特别适合分布式仪器研究的行星科学优先课题。我们确定了四个分布式仪器有望突破传统单体传感器局限的研究领域：火星天气与气候研究；岩质与冰质天体地震事件定位；痕量气体排放源定位（主要针对火星）；以及内部结构的磁测研究。随后，我们调研了分布式传感器的使能技术并评估其成熟度。指出传感器布设（包括行星表面的下降与着陆）、能源供应和仪器自主性是未来分布式仪器发展需要重点突破的三大技术领域。总体而言，本研究表明分布式仪器在行星科学中具有巨大潜力，并为后续太阳系原位科学分布式仪器的研究奠定了路径基础。