Uranus Orbiter, The other proposed ice-giant mission |
Uranus Orbiter, The other proposed ice-giant mission |
Nov 11 2005, 05:13 PM
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#1
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Member Group: Members Posts: 509 Joined: 2-July 05 From: Calgary, Alberta Member No.: 426 |
Since the Neptune Orbiter thread has started to veer into talking about a Uranus orbiter as well, it seemed like a good idea to start a topic for Uranus.
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Sep 22 2007, 12:12 PM
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#2
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Founder Group: Chairman Posts: 14448 Joined: 8-February 04 Member No.: 1 |
Sounds great! You paying?
Seriously - that'd be an ideal way to do it - but if they can't find money to do one of them, they're not going to be able to find the money to do both. Doug |
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Sep 22 2007, 06:14 PM
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#3
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2530 Joined: 20-April 05 Member No.: 321 |
Sounds great! You paying? Seriously - that'd be an ideal way to do it - but if they can't find money to do one of them, they're not going to be able to find the money to do both. Doug Yes, I think just about any Outer SS science is looking marginal these days. Only the heavy-hitters (Europa, Titan, Enceladus, Jupiter and Saturn themselves) have a good shot at attention. I will always be somewhat heartbroken that NH2 didn't come to pass, because the uranian flyby would have done an awful lot to address post-Voyager science there. With the extreme inclination and long seasons, the uranian satellites lose a lot of value as a potential target for the next *wince* 84 years. Given how long it was between Mariner 10 and Messenger, that sadly doesn't seem like such a long time. I think the opportunistic use of a flyby en route to some deep-space (heliosphere) mission is the best bet that Uranus has, if we get a mission where the direction doesn't matter so much as the distance and we may as well point the ship at Uranus just to take advantage (and get a little gravity assist). But even such a mission would only carry nice camera in order to take imagery at Uranus, so it's not a total freebie. Neptune/Triton carry a bit more clout, and lack the extreme seasonal constraints of Uranus, and I guess they'll get their closeup in, oh, about 30-40 years or so. |
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Sep 23 2007, 05:18 AM
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#4
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 24 Joined: 4-September 07 Member No.: 3653 |
I think the opportunistic use of a flyby en route to some deep-space (heliosphere) mission is the best bet that Uranus has, if we get a mission where the direction doesn't matter so much as the distance and we may as well point the ship at Uranus just to take advantage (and get a little gravity assist). But even such a mission would only carry nice camera in order to take imagery at Uranus, so it's not a total freebie. Cassini could fly by Uranus as part of an end-of-life disposal. It could arrival anywhere from 2030 on (even at the equinox). There was another Longuski paper that talked about this at the AIAA/AAS Astrodynamics conference this summer. The big question, of course, is if Cassini could last that long. I hope they look into it to see if it could make it. I've also calculated that you could launch something new horizon's sized to Uranus and not just do a flyby, but get it into orbit and do a tour. The flight time to Uranus would be 12 years, and the ops cost would probably be outrageous.... and you'd arrive at the solstice which wouldn't be great. So while it is possible with current launch and current chemical engines to do a Uranus mission, it is probably a lot of money to spend for a Uranus solstice mission. And Neptune isn't even possible without some sort of new technology or 20+ year flight times. *sigh* |
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