OPAG Reports, Formal proposals/evaluations of future outer SS missions |
OPAG Reports, Formal proposals/evaluations of future outer SS missions |
Nov 9 2007, 08:28 PM
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#201
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2530 Joined: 20-April 05 Member No.: 321 |
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/opag/announcements.html
That's one little URL with a lifetime's worth of reading material. Three detailed studies are available in PDF format. The missing body is Titan, which will be the subject of a forthcoming report. The three focus missions are: Europa Explorer: Fairly detailed description of a mission that is pretty much what Europa Orbiter would have been. Jupiter System Observer: Basically, Galileo 2 (without the antenna mishap!). The craft would start with a 3-year tour of all the Galileans, then spend 1 year in an elliptical Ganymede orbit, then the rest of the mission in a tight, polar Ganymede orbit (like MGS at Mars). That would map the heck out of Ganymede, but also be close enough to the rest of the system to make long-range observations for years. Note that Ganymede would thereby provide a lot of radiation shielding. Enceladus: where three profiles are examined in depth: Enceladus Orbiter only; Enceladus Orbiter with soft lander; Saturn orbiter with Enceladus soft lander. There's more to chew on here than I have had (or may ever have) time for, but I'll throw in my two cents' worth: Seems like a Europa-only mission would only benefit from coming after a JSO. EE would explore Europa much better than JSO would; why even have JSO observations at Europa if EE came first? In many ways, these two missions are competitive. EE would have the big payoff, but JSO seems like basic recon that would prime EE, especially giving specs on radar performance. But if we waited til JSO was 4 years into its mission before completing design of EE, then put EE sometime mid-century. If an Enceladus mission included a Saturn orbiter, then maybe the same orbiter could provide data relay for separate Titan elements. However, a lot of the Enceladus science goals would require an Enceladus orbiter, so I don't think a Saturn orbiter for Enceladus/Titan will win out. Note that Enceladus orbital velocity is low enough that the craft could manage to take lots of hits from ice pellets and survive. Put a bulletproof vest on the craft and let it soar through the plumes endlessly. |
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Jun 29 2008, 01:12 AM
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#202
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Member Group: Members Posts: 715 Joined: 22-April 05 Member No.: 351 |
I had the time to finish reading the rest of the presentation from the Planetary Sciences subcommittee meeting. The interesting points to me were:
1) A $3B outer planet Flagship mission in the 2020 time frame would be a budgetary challenge 2) It looks like the decision between Europa and Titan will be delayed to a TBD date. 3) NASA is replanning its Mars roadmap. The goal of a sample return in the early to mid 2020's seems to be the guiding principle. The aeronomy Mars scout mission will happen in 2009, with a selection this September. NASA is trying to figure out how to fit in a Mars Prospector rover (somewhere between MER and MSL in capabilities), a Mars Science Orbiter, and a Mars network mission into the flow. 4) The timeframe for the next Discovery mission appears to be up in the air. 5) NASA is making noises that it will do a Discovery mission with the Stirling engine power source. 6) A team is defining a Venus flagship mission for the mid 2020's. Right now, they are looking at an orbiter with a high resolution radar, two short-lived landers, and two high altitude balloons. Goal appears to be not to require radical new technology development. -------------------- |
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Jun 29 2008, 03:20 PM
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#203
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Member Group: Members Posts: 715 Joined: 22-April 05 Member No.: 351 |
The aeronomy Mars scout mission will happen in 2009, with a selection this September. My mistake. I meant to type that the aeronomy mission will fly in 2013. MSL flies (fingers crossed!) in 2009. -------------------- |
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