tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270899075443508100.post6919738992953609601..comments2024-01-03T20:28:17.727-08:00Comments on Future Planetary Exploration: Proposed New Frontiers MissionsVan Kanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14227978868817989527noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270899075443508100.post-88597534964419037792017-11-08T04:56:40.668-08:002017-11-08T04:56:40.668-08:00Van, getting closer to the down selection of the n...Van, getting closer to the down selection of the next NF mission. Is there a date or a conference this announcement will be made? Sometimes they are released at a set meeting, other times they are just announced and simply curious.Ken Douglashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00071183562613176375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270899075443508100.post-44338786140983635602017-09-07T09:50:43.186-07:002017-09-07T09:50:43.186-07:00Hi, Van, the Trojan Tour proposal was cancelled wh...Hi, Van, the Trojan Tour proposal was cancelled which explains why you're not hearing anything about it. There's a newer New Frontiers proposal called VOX for Venus Origins Explorer.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09386510490170163090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270899075443508100.post-25359793364967961242017-08-28T08:44:59.756-07:002017-08-28T08:44:59.756-07:00This certainly brings up the familiar situation of...This certainly brings up the familiar situation of wanting to see more than one of these fly.<br /><br />I find myself leaning towards Venus, which has not drawn an American spacecraft (gravity assist flybys notwithstanding) in 28 years. In the 1963 Rose Bowl Parade, a float showed Mariner 2 flying by Venus. I think it would have shocked the crowds then to know that the U.S. will not have flown a mission to Venus' surface (one Pioneer Venus probe whose strictly atmospheric instruments kept working after landing notwithstanding) in the subsequent *sixty* years. But the motive here isn't just turf. As we begin to discover Earth-sized planets orbiting other stars, Venus gains importance as the only example of these that can be visited.<br /><br />Enceladus and Titan can't be ignored or downplayed – they are both enormously interesting and could certainly attract some superb missions. I wonder, in a hand-waving way, if our digestion of Cassini data is complete. The scientific community mulled over Europa, leading to at least one furious debate, for many, many years after Galileo, and I see Titan and Enceladus as no less complex. I'm sure that any mission planned now would produce rich payoffs, but it's more bang for the buck to let the scientific process run its course with Cassini results. I'm not sure that any Enceladus proposal makes more than an incremental boost on the wealth of Cassini data. Venus, on the other hand, is very much overdue, and we've had decades to make what we can of Magellan, etc. data.<br /><br />So at my distance from the details, I'm rooting for VICI or VISAGE. Failing that, we know Titan is a target rich environment. Comets, gas giants, and the Moon seem far less "overdue." I'm sure something exciting will transpire.John Rehlinghttp://sciencepiazza.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270899075443508100.post-46009712434020605372017-08-05T16:15:27.915-07:002017-08-05T16:15:27.915-07:00Oops! Corrected. Thanks!Oops! Corrected. Thanks!Van Kanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14227978868817989527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270899075443508100.post-67597876267988294602017-08-05T12:31:01.572-07:002017-08-05T12:31:01.572-07:00For this current competition, NASA’s managers adde...For this current competition, NASA’s managers added two additional targets, ¿Titan’s? moons Enceladus and Titan.<br /><br />¿Titan? ¿Saturn?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270899075443508100.post-60324430454265587472017-08-05T07:26:27.034-07:002017-08-05T07:26:27.034-07:00Oh, and I'd like to see an ocean worlds missio...Oh, and I'd like to see an ocean worlds mission, too. This is the last chance to have a mission arrive within my probable lifetime.Van Kanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14227978868817989527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270899075443508100.post-90127275700081483392017-08-05T07:24:21.272-07:002017-08-05T07:24:21.272-07:00Hi Ken, good to hear from you again. I think it&#...Hi Ken, good to hear from you again. I think it's very unlikely that two NF missions will be picked. That's just too much of a hit to NASA's budget. Picking two Discovery missions works because the flight rate is higher and mission costs lower -- by combining two selections at once, NASA avoids the costs and administration of a second competition and selection (and saves the proposing community the same).<br /><br />The only way I could see two picked might be if NASA selects a non-ocean worlds mission, and Culberson adds money to the budget. But he's already going to have to search high and low to get money to support the Europa Clipper and lander.Van Kanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14227978868817989527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270899075443508100.post-70839959299100860702017-08-05T04:05:14.450-07:002017-08-05T04:05:14.450-07:00Wow! No where have I been able to find this long s...Wow! No where have I been able to find this long sought after info on the upcoming New Frontiers selection. I will admit, I have become an Ocean Worlds snob and simply feel we HAVE TO go to Enceladus, but have to admit we also need to go back to Venus. Dragonfly is the most exciting but can't help to feel it is too complicated for the next flight. Van, any chance they select NF4 and NF5 like they just did with Discovery missions? Even if they did, I could not see them selecting both Ocean Worlds proposals. Felt NASA made a big mistake in recently choosing similar Discovery missions!Ken Douglashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00071183562613176375noreply@blogger.com