Most exciting year for solar system exploration? |
Most exciting year for solar system exploration? |
Jan 1 2015, 06:52 PM
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#1
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 48 Joined: 10-September 06 Member No.: 1129 |
In light of the coming rendezvous with Ceres and the Pluto-Charon system, I thought I'd start a conversation about what everyone considers to be the most exciting years in solar system exploration. I think 1969 is obviously the most exciting year for manned exploration, so for this topic I'd like to focus more on the robotic missions.
Here are the ones I consider the top 3 contenders: 1965 - Mariner 4 sends back the first pictures of another world's surface other than Earth & Luna, revealing Mars to be utterly different than many had imagined. 1979 - Voyager 1 & 2 are the first to image the surfaces of the 4 Galilean Moons, revealing their surprising natures on a global scale. 2015 - If all goes as planned, Dawn and New Horizons will image the surfaces of 3 never-explored worlds (Ceres, Pluto, and Charon) in high resolution. Some other notable years... 1972 - Mariner 9 is the first craft to orbit another planet, and dramatically expands the scope of Mars imagery. 1974 - Mariner 10 images Venus and Mercury for the first time. 1975 - Venera 9 is the first probe to take photos from the surface of another planet. 1980 - Voyager 1 explores Saturn and several of its moons. 1986 - Voyager 2 explores the Uranus system. 1989 - Voyager 2 explores Neptune and Triton, discovering a world with nitrogen geysers. 2005 - Huygens lands on Titan, and Cassini reveals the dark side of Iapetus and the plumes of Enceladus. 2014 - Rosetta is the first craft to image a comet in high resolution and the first to land a probe on a comet. All just my opinion. What say you? |
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Jan 1 2015, 07:11 PM
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#2
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 3419 Joined: 9-February 04 From: Minneapolis, MN, USA Member No.: 15 |
I would add:
1958 -- Explorer 1 discovers the van Allen belts of energetic particles trapped by Earth's magnetic field, extremely basic information needed for planning of all future spaceflights of any kind. 1959 -- Luna (aka Lunik) 3 photographs the far side of the Moon for the first time, and for the first time we see prominent backside features such as Tsiolkovsky crater. 1966 -- Humans see the Moon from its surface for the first time, from both Luna 9 and Surveyor I. 1976 -- Viking landers 1 and 2 give humanity its first actual views of Mars from its surface, making the Red Planet an actual place and not just a light in the sky. -the other Doug (With my shield, not yet upon it) -------------------- “The trouble ain't that there is too many fools, but that the lightning ain't distributed right.” -Mark Twain
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Jan 1 2015, 09:15 PM
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#3
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Member Group: Members Posts: 154 Joined: 21-April 05 From: Rochester, New York, USA Member No.: 336 |
Going from memory... Once Cassini dives into Saturn in September 2017, will Mars be the only planet left with active missions? It certainly seems like the last 10 years have been the a peak time for exploration.
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Jan 1 2015, 09:54 PM
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#4
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 78 Joined: 20-September 14 Member No.: 7261 |
Mariner 9 started orbiting Mars in November 1972, Mars 2 from December 1972. I'd book that for that year.
So we basically just need something for: 1957, 1960-1964, 1967-1971, 1972, 1975, 1977-1978, 1981-1985, 1987-1988, 1990-2005, 2006-2013. 1957 - first orbit achieved. 1967 - first atmospheric entry probe at another planet (Venera 4) 1970 - first robotic sample return from another body (Luna 16), first teleoperated rover (Lunokhod 1), first hard landing on another planet (Venera 7) 1972 - first in-situ spectroscopic analysis of surface material of another planet (Venera 8) 1973 - first soft landing on another planet (Mars 3) 1977 - first spacecraft photo showing two separate bodies (Voyager 1 - Earth and the Moon)... ok, finding one for this year was hard 1978 - first mooring at a Sun-Earth Lagrange point (ISEE-3) 1960-1964 - only saw launch failures in attempting for new exploration achievements. 1968-1969 - Moon Race throws that one out of whack, although I bet one could find something. Someone do 1981+. Pioneer 10 was the first beyond Neptune in 1983, and multiple firsts by Galileo comes to mind for 1990+. |
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Jan 1 2015, 10:14 PM
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#5
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 78 Joined: 20-September 14 Member No.: 7261 |
Going from memory... Once Cassini dives into Saturn in September 2017, will Mars be the only planet left with active missions? "Active" as in in place? Juno's dive is scheduled for October 2017, so technically there'll still be at least one other after Cassini. For a month. BepiColombo for Mercury would be enroute by then, since 2016. Has Venus flybys scheduled for 2019 and 2020 to swing down to Mercury for 5 flybys over the next couple years, and would then place two orbiters at Mercury in 2024. |
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Jan 1 2015, 10:25 PM
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#6
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2511 Joined: 13-September 05 Member No.: 497 |
So we basically just need something for... 1990-2005, 2006-2013. Gee, you've managed to skip over my entire professional career from Mars Observer on. The only "exciting" things that have happened since 1990 were Huygens and Rosetta? -------------------- Disclaimer: This post is based on public information only. Any opinions are my own.
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Jan 1 2015, 10:57 PM
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#7
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1627 Joined: 5-March 05 From: Boulder, CO Member No.: 184 |
How about the Galileo probe entry in 1995, first in-situ investigation of a giant planet atmosphere?
-------------------- Steve [ my home page and planetary maps page ]
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Jan 2 2015, 12:05 AM
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#8
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2081 Joined: 13-February 10 From: Ontario Member No.: 5221 |
I heard that two rovers landed on Mars back in 2004, along with an orbiter arriving; ring any bells?
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Jan 2 2015, 03:16 AM
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#9
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Member Group: Members Posts: 903 Joined: 30-January 05 Member No.: 162 |
Just for me, Voyager 1 approach and encounter with Saturn was as exciting as it ever got.
All the way in, the ring pictures just kept getting better and better. No one imagined so much detail, and then the spokes were seen !!! Right up to closest approach to Titan we all were hoping for a break in the clouds to see the surface, but it wasn't to be till Cassini got there. The satellites were weirdly different from Jupiter's The ring plane crossing was a nail biter too. Did I mention the rings ? |
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Jan 2 2015, 04:56 AM
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#10
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Member Group: Members Posts: 159 Joined: 4-March 06 Member No.: 694 |
I rarely post here, though I am now a 3-year member of the Planetary Society.
Here's one that have not been mentioned. 1986 - Gittto imaged Halley's comet. -------------------- I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before thee life and death, the blessing and the curse; therefore choose life, that thou mayest live, thou and thy seed.
- Opening line from episode 13 of "Cosmos" |
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Jun 17 2015, 05:43 PM
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#11
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2920 Joined: 14-February 06 From: Very close to the Pyrénées Mountains (France) Member No.: 682 |
I don't know if 2015 will be the more exciting year but, these days, each time I refresh, 3 topics are on top:
NH, NEAR, Philae Definitively the most exciting MONTH. -------------------- |
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Jun 17 2015, 06:20 PM
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#12
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Member Group: Members Posts: 813 Joined: 8-February 04 From: Arabia Terra Member No.: 12 |
I don't know if 2015 will be the more exciting year but, these days, each time I refresh, 3 topics are on top: NH, NEAR, Philae NEAR? That's a blast from the past! First time I ever became aware of Doug Ellison's work- that great NEAR landing photomosaic he made. I wasn't around at the time, but I'm sure the 1979 Voyager flybys of Jupiter must make that year one of the top three. A wonderful abundance of planetary diversity revealed unexpectedly. Like having another solar system on our doorstep. |
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Jun 17 2015, 06:36 PM
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#13
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2920 Joined: 14-February 06 From: Very close to the Pyrénées Mountains (France) Member No.: 682 |
Yep, this was the Dawn of exploration...
I can't believe I wrote NEAR -------------------- |
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Jun 17 2015, 07:28 PM
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#14
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Director of Galilean Photography Group: Members Posts: 896 Joined: 15-July 04 From: Austin, TX Member No.: 93 |
Meh, all those asteroids look alike, amirite?
-------------------- Space Enthusiast Richard Hendricks
-- "The engineers, as usual, made a tremendous fuss. Again as usual, they did the job in half the time they had dismissed as being absolutely impossible." --Rescue Party, Arthur C Clarke Mother Nature is the final inspector of all quality. |
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Jun 17 2015, 08:57 PM
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#15
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1582 Joined: 14-October 05 From: Vermont Member No.: 530 |
Gee, you've managed to skip over my entire professional career from Mars Observer on. The only "exciting" things that have happened since 1990 were Huygens and Rosetta? Perhaps they mean seminal or novel, though that's still in the eyes of the beholder. Magellen at Venus was huge for understanding that world as more than a cloud, same as Cassini at Titan. |
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