The NASA Uranus Orbiter and Probe (UOP) is the agency’s highest priority large mission, according to a new decadal survey from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. It would basically consist of a multiyear orbital tour to gain knowledge on ice giants in general, along with the Uranian system in particular. There would be several flybys as well as the delivery of an atmospheric probe.
Following the Uranus Orbiter and Probe (UOP) would be the Enceladus Orbilander, NASA’s second-highest priority large mission, which would seek evidence of life on this moon of Saturn. Observations would be conducted both from orbit and during a two-year landed mission that would perform detailed studies of fresh plume material originating from Enceladus’ interior ocean. These missions will also definitely shed light on how sunsets look on other worlds.
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This report sets out an ambitious but practicable vision for advancing the frontiers of planetary science, astrobiology, and planetary defense in the next decade. This recommended portfolio of missions, high-priority research activities, and technology development will produce transformative advances in human knowledge and understanding about the origin and evolution of the solar system, and of life and the habitability of other bodies beyond Earth,” said Robin Canup, assistant vice president of the Planetary Sciences Directorate at the Southwest Research Institute.
