Скачать или смотреть Uranus mission is in the top priority of new decadal survey [space news]

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine have published their latest decadal survey of planetary science and astrobiology, revealing the development of a mission to Uranus baselined to launch on SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket.

Known as the #Uranus Orbiter and Probe or #UOP, the mission proposal has been under development by a team of #NASA, University of California, and Johns Hopkins University scientists and engineers for several years. But only with the development of the SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket did a mission launch become potentially possible. In addition, there are technically three other alternatives: United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan Centaur, Blue Origin’s New Glenn, and NASA’s own Space Launch System (SLS). But these rockets have not even passed their first flight tests yet.

A fully-expendable Falcon Heavy rocket with a standard payload fairing could launch around 8.5-10 tons to UOP’s preferred trajectories. That’s would be more then enough for launching a spacecraft to Uranus. Comprised of a namesake Orbiter and Probe, UOP would arrive in orbit around Uranus in late 2044 after a 15-years journey. The primary science mission would begin by deploying a small atmospheric probe to directly analyze the composition and behavior of the planet’s exotic atmosphere, which is believed to be volatile, prone to vast and violent storms, and host to some of the most extreme winds in the solar system. The probe would weigh ~270 kilograms and is only expected to survive for a few hours at most.

The #orbiter, however, would continue on to tour the Uranian system for at least four years, observing and studying the ice giant and its rings, magnetosphere, and 27+ moons. Uranus itself resides in what may be the most common class of exoplanets in the universe, making a close study of it invaluable for exoplanet science as a whole. It’s also possible that one or more Uranian moons have liquid water oceans created by tidal heating, adding to the list of extraterrestrial bodies that might feature habitable environments or alien life.

If NASA agrees to develop the Uranus Orbiter and Probe, work towards a preferred 2031 launch window could begin in earnest as early as 2024.


Materials: https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-falc...