73 Other space science missions
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.
73 Other space science missions
(various sources; corrections and updates
are solicited, and primary sources on the Web are likely to be more
accurate. Launch dates are tentative; most shuttle missions are not
listed even when they have some science content).
1997
o VSOP (VLBI Space Observatory Program) [Jan/Feb, M-V, NASDA]
NASA is building 3 specialized tracking stations to record the
wideband radioastronomy data that this spacecraft will produce.
See
http://www.vsop.isas.ac.jp/VSOP.html
o ISELA [International Space Enterprises/Lavochkin Association]
Commercial proposal to land a rover on the Moon in the vicinity
of the Apollo 11 site, followed by 3-6 months of exploration.
Contact Tom Kessler (tomkessler@aol.com) of ISE for details.
o LUNAR-A [ISAS]
Multiple penetrator mission to study the crust structure and
thermal construction of the moon's interior.
o RADIOASTRON [RSA]
Same purpose as VSOP. NRAO is building similar ground stations
for tracking. These two spacecraft will coobserve radio sources
in conjunction with ground based VLBA radio telescopes.
1998
o MARS SURVEYOR 98 [December/January, Delta II, NASA]
Separate orbiter and lander missions continuing the Mars
Surveyor program. See
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/mip/msurv.html
http://www.msss.com/mars/surveyor/ms98.html
o PLANET-B [ISAS]
Mars orbiter to observe interaction between Martian atmosphere
and the solar wind.
o WIDE-FIELD INFRARED EXPLORER (WIRE) [September, NASA]
Small Explorer mission to survey starburst galaxies, where star
formation is taking place at a high rate. See
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/mip/wire.html
1999
o ASTRO-E [ISAS]
High resonance and sensitivity X-ray astronomy. See
http://www.astro.isas.ac.jp/xray/mission/astroe/astroeE.html
o STARDUST [NASA]
Discovery-class mission to rendezvous with comet P/Wild 2.
Stardust will collect cometary dust and volatiles as well as
interstellar dust, returning samples to Earth in 2006. See
http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/
o X-RAY MULTI MIRROR MISSION (XMM) [ESA]
High-throughput x-ray spectroscopy satellite. See
http://astro.estec.esa.nl/XMM/xmm.html
2001
o INTERNATIONAL GAMMA RAY ASTROPHYSICS OBSERVATORY (INTEGRAL) [ESA]
Fine spectroscopy and accurate imaging of celestial gamma-ray
sources in the 15 KeV - 10 MeV range. See
http://astro.estec.esa.nl/SA-general/Projects/Integral/integral.html
o MUSES-C [ISAS]
Asteroid rendezvous and sample return.
o PLUTO EXPRESS [Molniya or Delta, joint NASA/RSA]
Dual flyby/atmosphere probe mission for low-cost initial
reconnaissance of the Pluto-Charon system. Encounter ~2013.
Proposed new start in FY 1998. See
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/pluto/
o SPACE INFRARED TELESCOPE FACILITY (SIRTF) [Shuttle, NASA]
Fourth element of the Great Observatories program. A free-flying
observatory with a lifetime of 5 to 10 years, it will observe
new comets and other primitive bodies in the outer solar system,
study cosmic birth formation of galaxies, stars and planets and
distant infrared-emitting galaxies. See
http://sirtf.jpl.nasa.gov/sirtf/home.html
2003
o ROSETTA [ESA]
Asteroid flyby and rendezvous with comet P/Wirtanen in 2011.
After rendezvous, the spacecraft will stay with the comet along
its trajectory into the inner solar system through perihelion
(the orbital point nearest to the Sun) to study the material
that constitutes the comet, and the cometary processes that
evolve with the decreasing distance from the Sun. One or two
Surface Science Packages will be deployed onto the comet nucleus
surface to provide the means for in-situ studies of the nucleus.
2006
o FIRST (Far InfraRed Space Telescope) [ESA]
Large (3-meter mirror) space observatory with high spatial and
spectral resolution imaging in the approximately 85-900 micron
wavelength region. See
http://astro.estec.esa.nl/SA-general/Projects/First/first.html
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