2011 Wow!, Big event year |
2011 Wow!, Big event year |
Aug 26 2010, 12:32 AM
Post
#1
|
|
Newbie Group: Members Posts: 9 Joined: 2-May 06 Member No.: 760 |
I'll admit the delay of the Mars Science Laboratory to launch in 2011 depressed me. But Kepler has started to show results and that will only accelerate in 2011.
As far as planetary exploration, 2011 will usher in some incredibly exciting robotic exploration. First MESSENGER will start very serious exploration of Mercury after orbit insertion. The flybys were nice, but settling in to really start to get a handle on Mercury will be really cool. Does anyone have doubts that many new discoveries will come from this exploration? But I have to admit, I think just about the most exciting mission out there to me is DAWN. I've been anticipating this craft's vesta arrival since launch and now there is less than a year to go. The DAWN encounter(and leisurely orbit) with Vesta planetlet really sparks my imagination. And when done with Vesta on to the dwarf planet Ceres! Whole new mini worlds to explore! And while we are getting used to seeing these new worlds up close, the most advanced lander ever devised by man will launch in 2011 and start Mars exploration in 2012. It will be continuous Christmas for space hobbyists and planetary scientists as these new vistas and worlds are unveiled. March 18, 2011 MESSENGER: Mercury Orbit Insertion August, 2011 DAWN: Vesta arrival Late 2011 Launch MSL: Landing I'm sure I'm leaving off some other activities in 2011, but these certainly have my attention. Feel free to add more. |
|
|
Aug 26 2010, 01:19 AM
Post
#2
|
|
Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1452 Joined: 26-July 08 Member No.: 4270 |
Does anyone have doubts that many new discoveries will come from [MESSENGER] Not for a moment. MESSENGER has already shed light on a variety of processes going on at Mercury and has already revealed a whole new Mercury. I'm looking forward with excitement to the MESSENGER orbit insertion. -------------------- -- Hungry4info (Sirius_Alpha)
|
|
|
Aug 26 2010, 01:23 AM
Post
#3
|
|
Founder Group: Chairman Posts: 14434 Joined: 8-February 04 Member No.: 1 |
You need to add Stardust-NEXT in there, Akatsuki arrives this December and the Juno launch is before MSL's.
|
|
|
Aug 26 2010, 08:26 AM
Post
#4
|
|
Member Group: Members Posts: 316 Joined: 1-October 06 Member No.: 1206 |
I'll be interested to see what Messenger can tell us about the putative ice at Mercury's poles. A recent Icarus paper by Harmon, Slade and Rice updated and improved on former Arecibo radar imaging and seems to confirm ice at both poles - indeed ice (in some cases covered by a lag) filling basically every available (shaded) spot - all the way down to 67degrees latitude in one case. There seems to be a preference for ice in shaded southern rims and at the 'cold longitudinal poles'. They suggest an icy area of around 14,000sqkm at the better imaged North pole.
Obviously the interior of these craters is dark - but will Messenger be able to image ice using light reflected from nearby crater walls? P |
|
|
Aug 26 2010, 02:35 PM
Post
#5
|
|
Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 59 Joined: 25-December 05 From: Stevens Point, Wisconsin, USA Member No.: 619 |
..following up on Antipode’s post (and pardon me for not wanting to start a new thread), the night sky of Mercury would occasionally feature a -7 magnitude Venus at close oppositions… About 15 times brighter than our view (I have seen Venus cast a shadow on a dark night here in the northern Midwest).
…Perhaps enough light to enable some cool Messenger night photo ops (although imaging ice in a crater at even 67° would be a stretch) |
|
|
Aug 26 2010, 03:04 PM
Post
#6
|
|
Member Group: Members Posts: 568 Joined: 20-April 05 From: Silesia Member No.: 299 |
Everyone forgot about Phobos-Grunt launch (November 2011). I have great expectations for this mission.
-------------------- Free software for planetary science (including Cassini Image Viewer).
http://members.tripod.com/petermasek/marinerall.html |
|
|
Aug 26 2010, 06:56 PM
Post
#7
|
|
Member Group: Members Posts: 540 Joined: 25-October 05 From: California Member No.: 535 |
Don't forget GRAIL and Lightsail-1
-------------------- 2011 JPL Tweetup photos: http://www.rich-parno.com/aa_jpltweetup.html
http://human-spaceflight.blogspot.com |
|
|
Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: 24th September 2024 - 12:27 AM |
RULES AND GUIDELINES Please read the Forum Rules and Guidelines before posting. IMAGE COPYRIGHT |
OPINIONS AND MODERATION Opinions expressed on UnmannedSpaceflight.com are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of UnmannedSpaceflight.com or The Planetary Society. The all-volunteer UnmannedSpaceflight.com moderation team is wholly independent of The Planetary Society. The Planetary Society has no influence over decisions made by the UnmannedSpaceflight.com moderators. |
SUPPORT THE FORUM Unmannedspaceflight.com is funded by the Planetary Society. Please consider supporting our work and many other projects by donating to the Society or becoming a member. |