Uranus and/or Neptune Exploration |
Uranus and/or Neptune Exploration |
Jul 20 2016, 05:29 PM
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#1
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Newbie Group: Members Posts: 15 Joined: 26-March 12 From: San Antonio, Texas Member No.: 6368 |
I'm 49 and will be 50 in January. With the success of New Horizons, being the first humans to ever see Pluto is mind blowing, I was wondering if I/we will ever see a probe or exploration of Uranus and Neptune? Are there any plans for exploring these two planets in the near future?
Thanks, James Sontag -------------------- Axes Grind and Maces Clash!
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Sep 29 2017, 04:53 PM
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#2
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2082 Joined: 13-February 10 From: Ontario Member No.: 5221 |
Looking at the maps of the solid bodies in the outer solar system, I figured this to be the best place to ask (as we all want better maps!):
Given the high axial tilts of the Uranian moons (and Triton), when combined with their lengthy seasons, how would an orbiter conduct mapping the geography/geology of the unlit hemispheres? As we saw at Pluto, one ends up with a giant fraction of the map remaining completely unknown; even a future Pluto orbiter would have to wait many decades for sunlight to reach the southern hemisphere. What sort of instrumentation could deal with this? There is only so much reflected light from the planet one can use like Cassini did (and even then only for the planet-facing hemisphere). Is RADAR like Cassini's practical at all? Something like MOLA on Mars Global Surveyor? Star occultations behind the limb during a flyby could get outlines of particular dramatic topography, like Miranda's canyons? Maybe a really big flashlight? Just brainstorming, and I'm curious if anyone else has thought about it. |
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Sep 29 2017, 11:23 PM
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#3
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 3516 Joined: 4-November 05 From: North Wales Member No.: 542 |
That's a really interesting enquiry. I would first like to add a complicating factor which is that the superficial appearance of these bodies may change significantly on a seasonal timescale. For example the parts of Pluto and Triton that we saw by day might look quite different during a long polar night as a result of 'repainting' by mobile volatile materials. Even a perfect night-time flashlight might show a different map. That said, the topography would not change and that could be reliably mapped by radar. How much do we learn from visible light images compared with a really good topographic survey? I don't know but would be interested in expert opinions.
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Sep 30 2017, 05:21 AM
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#4
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2530 Joined: 20-April 05 Member No.: 321 |
A few thoughts here…
A mission that arrived just before equinox would soon see the entire surfaces of the whole system, so that would be one approach (two flyby craft would be another), but doesn't address the question of seasons. These worlds have a lot less gravity than Triton or Pluto and they're much closer to the Sun, so I'd be skeptical about seasonal dynamics on a grand scale. It's always possible that a seasonal change would consist of a very thin layer that has profound implications for albedo but would be invisible on the scale of geomorphology. Earth and Mars both show such things. Radar may see right through a thin layer, but depending upon its dielectric properties, may see it as a major change in radar albedo. I don't think radar is likely to make the cut for a Uranus orbiter simply because the use case is speculative and radar is both heavy and places constraints on the trajectory (very close encounters are required). In terms of seeing dark sides in uranus-shine, the geometry produces a quirky result. Near uranian solstice, half of each moon would be seen in daylight. Half of the other half could be lit favorably for uranus-shine observations. So, we might end up with 3/4 of each moon mapped. Keep in mind that terrestrial telescopes are going to be able to observe uranian moons with increasing resolution as the massive South American telescopes come online in the next decade, so we might get some imaging of value to supplement whatever a mission would fail to see. My suspicion for all of the above, though, is that we're whistling past the graveyard. I don't think Uranus or Neptune are going to get an orbiter until Europa, Titan, and Enceladus each have a turn or two in the queue, and we're talking about a good chunk of a century before that would run its course. If the Breakthrough Starshot technology to visit another star goes anywhere, Uranus and Neptune might make some nice test cases, though. |
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