Seven innovative ideas are being considered for NASA's forthcoming significant undertaking.
In the realms of space exploration, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine have recently proposed some ambitious ideas for NASA's next major endeavor: the fifth New Frontiers mission. This mission, slated for launch in the 2030s, aims to delve into key scientific priorities, offering a tantalizing glimpse into the future of cosmic discovery.
The National Academies' report scrutinizes several mission concepts, each vying for the esteemed title of NASA's fifth New Frontiers project. Contenders include a mission to Saturn, a lunar sensor network, and a daring attempt to bring material from a dwarf planet home to Earth - reminiscent of the OSIRIS-REx mission. You can download this fascinating report directly from the National Academies' website.
It's important to note that this report is not your typical decadal survey. Instead, it was commissioned by NASA to evaluate the merits of each mission, as the space agency prepares for a future filled with cosmic wonders. Previous decadal surveys have tackled issues such as locating habitable worlds, delving into Uranus' mysteries, addressing funding gaps in space exploration, and solving the solar system's outstanding enigmas.
NASA's New Frontiers program, as explained on their website, is all about focused planetary science investigations using innovative management approaches. The primary objective is to explore the solar system, answering unique scientific questions in the process.
Indeed, the current New Frontiers missions include the New Horizons mission, which explored Pluto back in 2015, the Juno mission studying Jupiter, and the OSIRIS-REx mission, which sampled asteroid Bennu and brought the material back to Earth. An upcoming mission is NASA's Dragonfly, a quadcopter drone scheduled to launch to Saturn's moon Titan by 2028.
The recent report presented 11 findings and recommended 7 missions for consideration as candidates for the fifth New Frontiers mission. These include the Centaur Orbiter and Lander, Ceres Sample Return, Comet Surface Sample Return, Enceladus Multiple Flyby, Io Observer, Lunar Geophysical Network, and Saturn Probe.
The Centaur Orbiter and Lander would study the chemical and physical properties of Centaurs, small icy bodies from the Kuiper Belt. The Ceres Sample Return mission would recover material from the dwarf planet Ceres. The Comet Surface Sample Return mission would extract information from a comet, an icy and dusty celestial body.
Enceladus Multiple Flyby would scrutinize Enceladus, a moon of Saturn believed to house a subsurface ocean beneath its icy exterior. The Io Observer mission aims to explore Jupiter's fiery moon Io to understand the process of tidal heating. The Lunar Geophysical Network mission would establish a global network of geophysical instruments on the Moon's surface to better comprehend our rocky satellite's interior. Lastly, the Saturn Probe would study the planet to shed light on the formation of our solar system, giant planets, and Saturn itself.
The timeline for announcing the fifth New Frontiers mission's opportunity has been delayed to no earlier than 2026, overlapping with the timeframe for the sixth iteration of the program. As a result, NASA requested the National Academies to assess any significant scientific, programmatic, and technological advancements that could impact the fifth mission's priority themes.
While the report does not reveal any concrete conclusions, it serves as a guideline for NASA. Once Dragonfly takes flight, more attention can be directed to the program's sixth mission. Distance aside, New Frontiers' fifth frontier still fascinates NASA scientists, who are determined to explore the wonders of tomorrow despite the challenges presented by the present.
The National Academies' report outlines several potential habitable worlds that NASA's fifth New Frontiers mission could scrutinize, given the mission's focus on key scientific priorities in the 2030s. The likely technological advancements in space technology during this period will significantly influence the chosen mission's feasibility. NASA's New Frontiers program, with its emphasis on focused planetary science investigations, is poised to contribute significantly to our understanding of the future of cosmic discovery and habitable worlds.
