Updates on Pluto Mission (New Horizon)

[yg1968]

I can't find any recent threads on the Pluto mission. So I have decided to create one. <br /><br />For some reason, the Pluto New Horizon mission has been on and off. But as far as I know it is still on for now. I don't know why this mission has been in jeopardy so many times. It seems to be the most interesting mission that is in the works. The launch date is near as it is scheduled for January 2006. <br /><br />Here is a few 2004 articles on the Pluto mission:<br /><br />http://www.space.com/news/nasa_budget_040130.html<br /><br />http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/newsroom.htm<br />

 

[robnissen]

Interesting links. Although I realized that the Pluto mission was going to fly-by some KBOs, I never stopped to think that that meant it would only do a fly-by of Pluto and not orbit. Comparing Voyager to Galileo or Cassini, shows that there is no comparison between a fly-by versus in orbital insertion. Considering the years it will take New Horizon to reach Pluto, it seems a shame that there will a very short time for any up close imaging of Pluto. All well -- I am thankful that New Horizon's survived the budget axe (at least for now), and orbital insertion missions do cost more. I guess I shouldn't be greedy.<br />

 

[aaron38]

The lack of a Pluto orbital insertion is probably due to the laws of physics.<br /><br />For insertion into orbit around a gas giant, the planet's strong gravity grabs hold of the probe. Also the planets being closer in, they have a higher velocity around the sun so there is a smaller delta V between the probe and the planet.<br /><br />Pluto is tiny and moves at a snails pace out there. To get to Pluto within a decade means the probe is going to be screamingly fast. Having to brake from that to almost a dead stop is just about impossible with current technology.<br /><br />A Pluto orbiter will have to wait, probably decades, until nuclear (fusion) rockets are available.<br />

 

[thalion]

An orbiter would take longer to get there, because it would have to travel slow enough for an economical orbit insertion burn. Time has been of the essence with the Pluto mission in general, because of the expectation that its atmosphere will freeze onto the surface in the next few decades. The fuel necessary for the burn would also make the probe heavy, further increasing cost and weight.<br /><br />That said, I still think a Pluto orbiter would be sweet. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> Hope New Horizons II also becomes more than a sketch on paper, though I know I shouldn't be greedy, either.

 

[imran10]

Nuclear Lab Shutdown Puts Pluto Mission In Jeopardy<br />Brian Berger<br />Space News<br />August 3, 2004<br /><br /><i>NASA officials are worried that a work stoppage at Los Alamos National Laboratory could delay the launch of a nuclear-powered Pluto mission by a year and postpone the spacecraft’s arrival at its destination by two and a half years.</i>

 

[yg1968]

Another article that updates the mission:<br /><br />http://space.com/scienceastronomy/pluto_mission_040806.html<br />

 

[pr0ject0rion]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>Fusion propulsion is a hundred years from now. <p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br /><br />Actually, its been possible for nearly half a century. Probably not the kind of fusion you have in mind. Steady fusion is a pipedream. Pulsed fusion however is a piece of cake by comparison. <br /><br />Orion Links.<br /><br />http://www.angelfire.com/stars2/projectorion/orionpage.html<br /><br />

 

[yurkin]

As much as I’m an advocate of space exploration national security has to come first. These constant incidents at los Alamos are getting out of hand. <br />Nasa should develop its own RTG assembly facilities. How hard could it be?<br />

 

[odysseus145]

I remember reading in a Popular Science? magazine a few years ago about a mission called Pluto Express. Is New Horizon the same thing? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[CalliArcale]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>Nasa should develop its own RTG assembly facilities. How hard could it be? <p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br /><br />As I understand it, the main problem isn't RTG assembly but procurement of the radioactive material. Plutonium is very tightly controlled to prevent it falling into the hands of rogue nations or terrorists. Plus, breeder reactors have a major PR fight which limits the future creation of suitable material. Perhaps the next generation deep space power source for outer solar system missions will not be RTGs but nuclear reactors. Uranium is far easier to obtain than plutonium, and a reactor can produce a lot more power than an RTG (which basically just uses the plutonium as a heat source). Of course, RTGs do have a major advantage in simplicity, which makes them extremely reliable.<br /><br />I think JIMO is planning to use a nuclear reactor for power. New Horizons may very well be the last RTG-powered probe. <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>

 

[CalliArcale]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>I remember reading in a Popular Science? magazine a few years ago about a mission called Pluto Express. Is New Horizon the same thing?<p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br /><br />Sort of. Pluto Express was cancelled along with the rest of the "fire and ice" family of probes (which also included Europa Orbiter and Solar Probe). It was the last of the group to be cancelled, due to spiralling costs. There was great outrage within the scientific community, because we may soon lose our chance to study Pluto's atmosphere for a couple of centuries. Congress relented and a new Request For Proposals was put out, looking for a lower-cost alternative to Pluto Express. New Horizons came out of that and got the green light.<br /><br />In some respects, New Horizons is a scaled-down Pluto Express. It's really an entirely new proposal, though. <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>

 

[yurkin]

<font color="yellow"> New Horizons may very well be the last RTG-powered probe. </font><br /><br />Well I certainly hope that MSL Rover goes ahead. There’s also Juno and New Horizons II.<br /><br />Thinking of which. If New Horizons can’t make its deadline can’t it go on the route that the second one would have taken. But maybe it’s still to early to think about this. There’s still a few years till the second attempt.<br />Jupiter + (Uranus or Neptune) + (2 or 3) Kuiper objects = New Horizons II<br />