70 Upcoming planetary probes - missions and schedules
Description
This article is from the Space FAQ, by Jon Leech leech@cs.unc.edu and Mark Bradford tla@surly.org with numerous contributions by others.
70 Upcoming planetary probes - missions and schedules
Information on upcoming or currently active missions not mentioned below
would be welcome. Sources: NASA fact sheets, Cassini Mission Design
team, ISAS/NASDA launch schedules, press kits, agency Web pages.
Information on past, present, and future missions may be found on the
Web starting at
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/projects.html (All missions)
http://www.estec.esa.nl/spdwww/ (ESA missions)
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/NASA/research.html (NASA missions)
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/mip/planet.html (JPL missions)
http://www.isas.ac.jp/info/index-e.html (ISAS missions)
ADEOS - Advanced Earth Observing Satellite (NASDA). Launched August 16,
1996 on an H-II booster. ADEOS will study the Earth's surface and
atmosphere to acquire data on worldwide environmental changes. Includes
a JPL-developed instrument to measure ocean surface winds. See
http://hdsn.eoc.nasda.go.jp/
ASCA (ASTRO-D) - Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics
(ISAS). ASCA is an X-ray astronomy satellite launched into Earth orbit
on 2/20/93. Equipped with large-area wide-wavelength (1-20 Angstrom)
X-ray telescope, X-ray CCD cameras, and imaging gas scintillation
proportional counters.
CASSINI/HUYGENS - Saturn orbiter and Titan atmosphere probe. A joint
NASA/ESA project designed to accomplish an exploration of the Saturnian
system with its Cassini Saturn Orbiter and Huygens Titan Probe. Cassini
is scheduled for launch aboard a Titan IV/Centaur in October of 1997.
After gravity assists of Venus, Earth and Jupiter in a VVEJGA
trajectory, the spacecraft will arrive at Saturn in June of 2004. Upon
arrival, the Cassini spacecraft performs several maneuvers to achieve an
orbit around Saturn. Near the end of this initial orbit, the Huygens
Probe separates from the Orbiter and descends through the atmosphere of
Titan. The Orbiter relays the Probe data to Earth for about 3 hours
while the Probe enters and traverses the cloudy atmosphere to the
surface. After the completion of the Probe mission, the Orbiter
continues touring the Saturnian system for three and a half years. Titan
synchronous orbit trajectories will allow about 35 flybys of Titan and
targeted flybys of Iapetus, Dione and Enceladus. The objectives of the
mission are threefold: conduct detailed studies of Saturn's atmosphere,
rings and magnetosphere; conduct close-up studies of Saturn's
satellites, and characterize Titan's atmosphere and surface.
One of the most intriguing aspects of Titan is the possibility that its
surface may be covered in part with lakes of liquid hydrocarbons that
result from photochemical processes in its upper atmosphere. These
hydrocarbons condense to form a global smog layer and eventually rain
down onto the surface. The Cassini orbiter will use onboard radar to
peer through Titan's clouds and determine if there is liquid on the
surface. Experiments aboard both the orbiter and the entry probe will
investigate the chemical processes that produce this unique atmosphere.
The Cassini mission is named for Jean Dominique Cassini (1625-1712), the
first director of the Paris Observatory, who discovered several of
Saturn's satellites and the major division in its rings. The Titan
atmospheric entry probe is named for the Dutch physicist Christiaan
Huygens (1629-1695), who discovered Titan and first described the true
nature of Saturn's rings.
Key Scheduled Dates for the Cassini Mission (VVEJGA Trajectory) ------------------------------------------------------------- 10/06/97 - Titan IV/Centaur Launch 04/21/98 - Venus 1 Gravity Assist 06/20/99 - Venus 2 Gravity Assist 08/16/99 - Earth Gravity Assist 12/30/00 - Jupiter Gravity Assist 06/25/04 - Saturn Arrival 01/09/05 - Titan Probe Release 01/30/05 - Titan Probe Entry 06/25/08 - End of Primary Mission (Schedule last updated 7/22/92)
See
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/mip/cassini.html
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