What should NASA explore next? The National College of Science, Engineering and Medicine has just published a proposed scientific topic for NASA's fifth new border mission, outlining key priorities and a glimpse of the future of space exploration.
The report outlines some of the task concepts derived by the National Academy that will help meet the key needs of scientists while maintaining a balanced task combination. One of the lucky missions might be NASA's fifth new border mission and could be launched sometime in the 2030s. Some promising candidates being considered are Saturn's investigation, with sensor networks scattered across the moon's border selection. The report can be downloaded from the National Academy website.
The Academy's previous decadal phase investigations addressed the need to find a habitable world, explore Uranus, solve the funding gap between human exploration and space inhabitation, and address the outstanding mysteries of the solar system. The latest report is not a decade-long investigation, but is conducted by NASA’s request to assess the effectiveness of each mission as the agency prepares for the future of the new border.
NASA's website notes that the new Frontiers program “is designed to accomplish focused planetary scientific surveys using innovative and effective management methods.” “The main goal of the program is to answer unique scientific questions in the exploration of the solar system.”
The new boundary mission now operates includes a new horizon, which began in 2006 and explored Pluto, Juno (2011), studied Jupiter and Osiris-Rex (2016), These materials are sampled from asteroids and brought to Earth. NASA's Dragonfly is the upcoming new border mission, a four-wheeled drone that is scheduled to launch to Saturn's Moon Titan by 2028.
The recent survey described 11 findings in the survey and recommended that seven missions be reviewed as candidates for the Fifth Mission in the New Frontier. They are orbits and landers of Centaurus, CERES samples return, comet surface samples return, Exceladus multiple flights, IO observers, moon geophysical networks and Saturn probes.
The Centaurus orbit and lander will measure the chemical and physical properties of the ice-cold bodies in the Keple belt. Ceres sample returns will restore material from Dwarf Valley. Comet surface samples return can also do this, but from comets – the gathering of ice and dust flying in space.
Multiple people of Titan fly over will carefully examine Saturn's little moon, which is believed to be able to hide under its cold surface. IO observers will explore Jupiter's fiery moon to better understand the process of tidal heating. The Lunar Physics Network will deploy a global network of geophysical instruments on the moon’s surface to better understand the interior of our rock satellites, from the core to the shell. The Saturn rover sounds exactly what it is: a spacecraft that will take basic measurements of planets to better understand the formation of our solar system, giant planets and Saturn itself.
As noted on the National Academy website, the timing of the fifth new border mission's announcement of opportunity has been delayed until 2026, overlapping with the timeframe of the sixth iteration of the program. Therefore, NASA requires the National Academy to “invest and report any scientific, procedural and technological advances on mission 5 that have a significant impact on the priority mission topic”.
Although the report does not provide any conclusive information, that is, we don't know what the fifth new border mission will be, and may not know for years – it provides a roadmap for NASA. Once the dragonfly is out of the ground, the program’s agency staff will be able to focus more on item six of the program.
While New Frontiers still has a way to go, the mission concept is refreshing, reminding you that NASA scientists are trying their best to focus on tomorrow’s world – despite being hampered by today’s world.
