Any upcoming missions to asteroids?

[Szkeptik]

<p>I'm curious&nbsp;are NASA or other space agencies planning or executing missions into&nbsp;the asteroid belt? </p><p>Missions to best known bodies like Ceres, Gaspra, Vesta, Eros etc?</p>

 

[centsworth_II]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawn_(spacecraft) <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[h2ouniverse]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>I'm curious&nbsp;are NASA or other space agencies planning or executing missions into&nbsp;the asteroid belt? Missions to best known bodies like Ceres, Gaspra, Vesta, Eros etc? <br />Posted by Szkeptik</DIV><br /><br />In addition to Dawn, there is JAXA's Hayabusa currently (tentatively , *) carrying back samples of Itokawa to Earth ( http://www.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/muses_c/index_e.html&nbsp. JAXA plans too a Hayabusa 2 and ESA has down selected Marco Polo ( http://asimov.esrin.esa.it/esaCP/SEM1IQAMS7F_index_0.html&nbspas one of the missions in competition for its Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 program (would be in collaboration with JAXA). All three are sample return missions.</p><p>NASA has allowed an asteroid sample return mission to compete for its next New Frontiers mission (among other themes). ( http://www.huliq.com/59460/nasa039s-new-frontiers-program-community-announcement&nbsp</p><p>For a more distant future, after Dawn arrives at Ceres, its polar areas may well call for a lander mission if ice is discovered on the surface&nbsp;( http://www.cosis.net/abstracts/EPSC2008/00403/EPSC2008-A-00403-1.pdfhttp://www.cosis.net/abstracts/EPSC...df?PHPSESSID=3fa31a8324287c5bccbb5dd9bc6c3f06 ) </p><p>&nbsp;(<em>*) the Hayabusa mission succeeded in smacking Itokawa but is believed to have failed in capturing samples. It is seriously damaged but attempts nonetheless to go back to Earth. We'll see in 2010 if its reentry capsule makes it to the ground and whether it contains a little bit of asteroid material.</em></p>

 

[MeteorWayne]

<p>I have bumped the DAWN thread to the front page so szkeptik can access it easily.</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[JonClarke]

<p>The ESA Rosetta mission recently flew past asteroid Steins, and will also fly by asteroid Lutetia in 2010.</p><p>See http://www.planetary.org/news/2008/0909_Rosetta_Unearths_a_Jewel_of_the_Solar.html - at the bottom that page is an excellent scale comparison of all nine asteroids and four comets visited to date, from tiny Itokawa to comparative huge Mathilde.</p><p>Jon</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Whether we become a multi-planet species with unlimited horizons, or are forever confined to Earth will be decided in the twenty-first century amid the vast plains, rugged canyons and lofty mountains of Mars</em>  Arthur Clarke</p> </div>

 

[Szkeptik]

Thanks for all the info guys. I'm going through it now.

 

[CalliArcale]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>The ESA Rosetta mission recently flew past asteroid Steins, and will also fly by asteroid Lutetia in 2010.See http://www.planetary.org/news/2008/0909_Rosetta_Unearths_a_Jewel_of_the_Solar.html - at the bottom that page is an excellent scale comparison of all nine asteroids and four comets visited to date, from tiny Itokawa to comparative huge Mathilde.Jon <br /> Posted by jonclarke</DIV></p><p>*drools*&nbsp; The video they have of the Steins flyby is gorgeous.&nbsp; Thanks for sharing, JonClarke!</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>