From: leech@mahler.cs.unc.edu (Jon Leech)
Newsgroups: sci.space,news.answers
Subject: Space FAQ 11/15 - Upcoming Planetary Probes
Keywords: Frequently Asked Questions
Date: 24 Jul 92 04:36:12 GMT
Expires: 6 Sep 92 04:36:10 GMT
Followup-To: poster
Organization: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Archive-name: space/new_probes
Last-modified: $Date: 92/07/24 00:27:16 $

UPCOMING PLANETARY PROBES - MISSIONS AND SCHEDULES

    This covers only NASA and Japanese (ISAS, NASDA) missions. Hard data on
    other nations' (ESA, CIS) plans, and updates due to the usual delays and
    budget cuts would be welcome. Source: NASA fact sheets, Cassini Mission
    Design team, ISAS/NASDA launch schedules.


    GALILEO - Jupiter orbiter and atmosphere probe, in transit. Has returned
    the first resolved images of an asteroid, Gaspra, while in transit to
    Jupiter. Efforts to unfurl the stuck High-Gain Antenna (HGA) are
    continuing, though eventual success appears less likely. If the HGA
    cannot be unfurled, JPL has developed a backup plan using data
    compression (JPEG-like for images, lossless compression for data from
    the other instruments) which should allow the mission to achieve
    approximately 70% of its objectives.

	   Galileo Schedule
	   ----------------
	   10/18/89 - Launch from Space Shuttle
	   02/09/90 - Venus Flyby
	   10/**/90 - Venus Data Playback
	   12/08/90 - 1st Earth Flyby
	   05/01/91 - High Gain Antenna Unfurled
	   07/91 - 06/92 - 1st Asteroid Belt Passage
	   10/29/91 - Asteroid Gaspra Flyby
	   12/08/92 - 2nd Earth Flyby
	   05/93 - 11/93 - 2nd Asteroid Belt Passage
	   08/28/93 - Asteroid Ida Flyby
	   07/02/95 - Probe Separation
	   07/09/95 - Orbiter Deflection Maneuver
	   12/95 - 10/97 - Orbital Tour of Jovian Moons
	   12/07/95 - Jupiter/Io Encounter
	   07/18/96 - Ganymede
	   09/28/96 - Ganymede
	   12/12/96 - Callisto
	   01/23/97 - Europa
	   02/28/97 - Ganymede
	   04/22/97 - Europa
	   05/31/97 - Europa
	   10/05/97 - Jupiter Magnetotail Exploration


    MAGELLAN - Venus radar mapping mission. Has mapped almost the entire
    surface at high resolution. Funding for continuing operations into
    mapping cycle 4 and beyond has been cut from the proposed NASA budget.


    MARS OBSERVER - Mars orbiter including 1.5 m/pixel resolution camera.
    Launch scheduled 9/16/1992 aboard Titan III; arrival in 8/93, operations
    start 11/93 for one martian year (687 days).


    The proposed CRAF (Comet Rendezvous Asteroid Flyby) mission has been
    killed. [And if the FAQ editor may be permitted a moment of intemperate
    flamage, I hope those responsible for this travesty rot in Hell.]


    CASSINI - Saturn orbiter and Titan atmosphere probe. Cassini is 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/Centair 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)


    OTHER SPACE SCIENCE MISSIONS (note: this is based on a posting by Ron
    Baalke in 11/89, with ISAS/NASDA information contributed by Yoshiro
    Yamada (yamada@yscvax.ysc.go.jp). I'm attempting to track changes based
    on updated shuttle manifests; corrections and updates are welcome.

    1992 Missions
	o Atmospheric Lab for Applications and Science (ATLAS) [Apr, STS-45]
	    Shuttle, this manned lab will study variations in the solar
	    spectrum and Earth's atmosphere.

	o Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer [May, Delta II rocket]
	    This satellite will study the evolution and population of
	    stars and galaxies.

	o US Microgravity Laboratory [Jun, STS-50 USML-01]

	o TOPEX/Poseidon [Jun, Ariane 4 V52 rocket]
	    TOPEX will study the relationship of ocean systems to climate.
	    (Someone want to fill in the lineage of this mission? Presumably
	    it's primarily ESA.)

	o Tethered Satellite System [Aug, STS-46 TSS-1]
	    Shuttle, attached by tether to the shuttle bay, system will
	    study electrical fields and gas clouds in space while
	    demonstrating the capabilities of deploying and retrieving a
	    tethered satellite.

	o Spacelab Japan [Sep, STS-47 SL-J]

	o Laser Geodynamics Satellite [Sep, STS-52 LAGEOS II]

	o Mars Observer [Sep, Titan III rocket]
	    September by rocket, to study Mars' climate and surface.

	o ASTRO-D (Astronomy Satellite-D) [ISAS]
	    Conducting precise observations of the X-ray images and X-ray
	    spectra of various heavenly bodies.

	o GEOTAIL (Geophysical Tail) [ISAS/NASA, July, Delta II rocket]
	    The Geomagnetic Tail Observation Satellite for engaging in
	    observations of the structure and dynamics of the solar wind and
	    extending from the night side of the earth. This spacecraft is
	    to be launched by the United States. GEOTAIL is a collaborative
	    program with NASA and of USA.

    1993 Missions
	o Wind [Aug, Delta II rocket]
	    Satellite to measure solar wind input to magnetosphere.

	o Space Radar Lab [Sep, STS-60 SRL-01]
	    Gather radar images of Earth's surface.

	o Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer [Dec, Pegasus rocket]
	    Study of Stratospheric ozone.

	o SFU (Space Flyer Unit) [ISAS]
	    Conducting space experiments and observations and this can be
	    recovered after it conducts the various scientific and
	    engineering experiments. SFU is to be launched by ISAS and
	    retrieved by the U.S. Space Shuttle on STS-68 in 1994.

    1994
	o Polar Auroral Plasma Physics [May, Delta II rocket]
	    June, measure solar wind and ions and gases surrounding the
	    Earth.

	o IML-2 (STS) [NASDA, Jul 1994 IML-02]
	    International Microgravity Laboratory.

	o ADEOS [NASDA]
	    Advanced Earth Observing Satellite.

	o MUSES-B (Mu Space Engineering Satellite-B) [ISAS]
	    Conducting research on the precise mechanism of space structure
	    and in-space astronomical observations of electromagnetic waves.

    1995
	LUNAR-A [ISAS]
	    Elucidating the crust structure and thermal construction of the
	    moon's interior.

    Proposed Missions:
	o Advanced X-ray Astronomy Facility (AXAF)
	    Possible launch from shuttle in 1995, AXAF is a space
	    observatory with a high resolution telescope. It would orbit for
	    15 years and study the mysteries and fate of the universe.

	o Earth Observing System (EOS)
	    Possible launch in 1997, 1 of 6 US orbiting space platforms to
	    provide long-term data (15 years) of Earth systems science
	    including planetary evolution.

	o Mercury Observer
	    Possible 1997 launch.

	o Lunar Observer
	    Possible 1997 launch, would be sent into a long-term lunar
	    orbit. The Observer, from 60 miles above the moon's poles, would
	    survey characteristics to provide a global context for the
	    results from the Apollo program.

	o Space Infrared Telescope Facility
	    Possible launch by shuttle in 1999, this is the 4th element of
	    the Great Observatories program. A free-flying observatory with
	    a lifetime of 5 to 10 years, it would 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

	o Mars Rover Sample Return (MRSR)
	    Robotics rover would return samples of Mars' atmosphere and
	    surface to Earch for analysis. Possible launch dates: 1996 for
	    imaging orbiter, 2001 for rover.

	o Fire and Ice
	    Possible launch in 2001, will use a gravity assist flyby of
	    Earth in 2003, and use a final gravity assist from Jupiter in
	    2005, where the probe will split into its Fire and Ice
	    components: The Fire probe will journey into the Sun, taking
	    measurements of our star's upper atmosphere until it is
	    vaporized by the intense heat. The Ice probe will head out
	    towards Pluto, reaching the tiny world for study by 2016.


NEXT: FAQ #12/15 - Controversial questions