[X] My Assistant

[Guest_Myran_*]

The weather of Uranus gets more interesting when Uranus turns the northen hemisphere towards the Sun.

There was some suggestions that Uranus was in a calm phase when Voyager 2 flew by. Even though the contrast have been enhanced, the image from Hubble suggest that it might very well have been the case.

More info and image at Hubble Site NewsCenter

[nprev]

Yeah, those all sound plausible, karolp. Still, I'm sure that there are Jupiter-assisted trajectory opportunities at least every 12 years or so, which should make conventional propulsion still a feasible option.

But, selling the mission on its scientific merits indeed might be a challenge. Aside from all the stupid Uranus jokes (okay, I like them, too! ), it's true that some in Congress would view it as a rerun because of Voyager 2. It's been done before, though; witness Galileo & Cassini.

Hmm...Maybe, just maybe it could be sold as part of an integrated, progressive outer system exploration strategy, because there are clear precedents. Fly-bys followed by orbiters followed by landers has been the core US UMSF methodology since the beginning. Every universally recognized major planet (I'm not Pluto-hatin', here, just stating a fact) has had at least one fly-by; every planet from Mercury to Saturn has had (or is about to have) at least one orbiter mission. Therefore, it's time to send orbiters to Uranus and Neptune.

Heck, they even have ready-made names: Herschel & LeVerrier, and we can call the Triton lander Lassell. All we need now is a couple of billion bucks... Seriously, though, maybe Emily can help out. Any chance that TPS would be interested in lobbying for U&N missions?

[TritonAntares]

Hi,
I once read an article about a possible New Horizons II mission to Uranus (launch in 2008/09),
here 2 illustrations I downloaded from it:



Don't know exactly what happened to this idea?
It has probably been turned down due to funding reasons or the lack of RTGs as propellant material.

I remember Jupiter to be in a useful swing-by-position for Uranus or Neptun only until 2010.
There was an alternative chance to reach Triton in 2023 and a larger KBO in 2029 with a launch in 2012,
without passing Jupiter of course.

Who knows more?

Bye.