The Dragonfly
As announced last month, Nasa is sending a drone named the Dragonfly to explore Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. Part of their New Frontiers programme to explore the solar system’s biochemical relationships, the Dragonfly is scheduled to launch in 2026 and arrive at the icy moon in 2034. Development costs have peaked at $850m. Titan has “all the ingredients for life”, says Lori Glaze, director of Nasa’s planetary science division.
Lucy
Scheduled to launch in 2021, Lucy will carry out the first exploration of a body of primitive asteroids known as Trojans, which orbit the sun with Jupiter. Trojans are a residue of the primordial material that created the outer planets, meaning they hold clues to the history of the solar system. Using a remote-sensing instrument, Lucy will be able to assess the unique differences between the Trojans and collate information on the origins and evolution of the whole solar system. Lucy should reach the first Trojan asteroids in 2027.
Osiris-Rex
Launched in September 2016 and set to return to Earth in 2023, Osiris-Rex will be the first US mission to bring back samples of asteroid dust to Earth. Standing for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer, the probe is currently orbiting the asteroid Bennu and choosing a sample selection site for next summer.
Juno
Launched in August 2011 and with a now projected ending of July 2021, Juno is looking at the origins and evolution of Jupiter as a gas giant, which will aid understanding of other planetary systems that surround various stars. It recently sent back data detailing Jupiter’s changing internal magnetic field.
New Horizons
Four billion miles from Earth, New Horizons aims to aid our understanding of the icy planets on the periphery of our solar system. In 2015 it sent back detailed images of Pluto and earlier this year it beamed back images of a snowman-shaped object in the Kuiper belt named Ultima Thule. The probe is continuing to make observations of other Kuiper belt objects. It’s fuel reserves should last until the 2030s.
