Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science in the - Solar System ...

Medium
The first decadal survey identified five medium-class initiatives to collectively initiate the
competitively selected line of New Frontiers missions. These initiatives were, in priority order:
1. Kuiper Belt-Pluto Explorer—A mission to perform the initial spacecraft reconnaissance of
the Pluto/Charon system as well as one or more other Kuiper belt objects. This mission is currently being
implemented as the New Horizons mission launched in 2006 and scheduled to reach Pluto in 2015
(Figure 1.4). Subsequently, the spacecraft will be redirected so that it passes near to at least one
additional Kuiper belt object, as was recommended in the 2002 planetary sciences decadal survey.
2. South Pole-Aitken Basin Sample Return—A mission to return a sample from the oldest and
deepest impact basin on the Moon. An implementation of this mission called MoonRise was a runner up
for the second New Frontiers selection and is currently a finalist for the third. Selection of the third New
Frontiers mission is scheduled for 2011.
3. Jupiter Polar Orbiter with Probes—A mission to determine the internal structure of Jupiter.
An implementation of this priority without probes called Juno was selected as the second New Frontiers
mission. Juno is scheduled for launch in 2011 (Figure 1.5).
4. Venus In Situ Explorer—A mission to determine the geochemical characteristics of the
surface of Venus and to study its atmosphere. An implementation of this mission was a runner up for the
second New Frontiers selection and a new concept call the Surface and Atmosphere Geochemical
Explorer (SAGE) is currently a finalist for the third selection.
5. Comet Surface Sample Return—A mission to collect and return surface samples of a comet to
Earth. This mission has not yet been attempted.
The selection of New Horizons and Juno as the first two New Frontiers missions prompted
NASA in 2007 to request a new NRC study to suggest additional candidate missions to supplement the
remaining three. The subsequent report, Opening New Frontiers in Space: Choices for the Next New
Frontiers Announcement of Opportunity, 3 identified five additional candidates. They were, in
alphabetical order:
• Asteroid Rover/Sample Return—A mission to rendezvous with an asteroid, land, collect
surface samples, and return them to Earth for analysis. An implementation of this mission called the
Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) is
currently a finalist for the third New Frontiers launch opportunity.
• Ganymede Observer—A mission to perform detailed studies of the third of Jupiter’s Galilean
satellites, the largest satellite in the solar system.
• Io Observer—A mission to study the innermost of Jupiter’s Galilean satellites, the most
volcanically active body in the solar system.
• Network Science—A mission to deploy an array of small landers on the Moon or one of the
terrestrial planets to perform coordinated geophysical and/or meteorological observations.
• Trojan/Centaur/Reconnaissance—A mission to perform the initial characterization of one or
more Trojan asteroids and a Centaur.
PREPUBLICATION COPY—SUBJECT TO FURTHER EDITORIAL CORRECTION
1-5