Indeed, this was a far-reaching recommendation. The planet Uranus and its moons should become the new flagship mission priority for NASA startups in the decade 2023-2032.
The proposed mission known as Uranus spacecraft and explorers (UOP) is about ice giants in general, Uranus In particular, we will achieve this through flybys and atmospheric probe deliveries. The result is “transformative and groundbreaking science across a wide range of topics.”
UOP was proposed within the pages of “Origins, Worlds, Life—A 10-Year Strategy for Planetary Science and Astrobiology 2023-2032”. This fascinating 2022 document comes from the prestigious U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and is sponsored by NASA and the National Science Foundation.
improve knowledge
To emphasize the importance of Uranus, the Keck Institute for Space Studies (KISS) at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Workshop at the end of last year to consider how best to improve our knowledge of Uranus’ internal structure in the context of future missions, including orbiters and probes.
Related: A close look at Uranus: What NASA’s proposed ‘Ice Giant’ mission could teach us
The KISS workshop was spearheaded by Mark Hofstadter, a planetary scientist working for NASA. Jet propulsion laboratory (JPL) Southern California. He’s not shy about the solar system, admitting that Uranus is his favorite planet.
Space.com interviewed Hofstadter to discuss exploring Uranus. Uranus is a distant ice giant with a mass approximately 14.5 times that of Uranus. earth — can be provided. This planet has only been visited once by NASA voyager 2 A spacecraft during a short flyby dating back to 1986.
Hofstadter said many in the planetary community are paying close attention to the Uranus mission. The KISS study focused on one aspect of the Uranus system, he said. This meant understanding the current structure and composition of the planet’s interior to learn about its formation and evolution.
“Personally, I believe learning about the interior is the most important reason to go to Uranus,” Hofstadter said. But he also emphasized that Uranus is a complex system consisting of the planet’s interior, atmosphere, rings and small moons, larger moons, magnetosphere, and interactions with Earth. solar wind.
Therefore, as the Decadal Study pointed out, research on Uranus has the potential to produce transformative, groundbreaking science across a wide range of topics, Hofstadter said.
“We can also extend that ‘system’ concept to include how Uranus’s gravity rerouted the paths of other bodies on Earth over its lifetime. solar system“It has the potential to impact Earth,” Hofstadter added, “and every component of that system has functions that go against some of our ideas about how the planet works.” he added.
ice giant
That’s why UOP’s plan to place an orbiter (a spacecraft equipped with a variety of instruments as well as a probe to enter the atmosphere) in the middle of the system will dramatically change our understanding of the entire solar system. It is expected that it will increase. Planets orbiting other planets starHofstadter advised.
Why does he rate the interior of Uranus as the most compelling exploration for the mission?
“Of the thousands of planets we have discovered in our galaxy, most are about the same size as Uranus. Neptune. “That makes Uranus an important type of planet, and we will apply what we learn on Uranus to all the other distant planets that cannot be studied in detail,” JPL planetary scientists responded.
complex system
Hofstadter emphasized that much remains unknown about the composition and structure of both Uranus and Neptune. For example, scientists are not sure whether Uranus has deep, solid regions.
“We call them ‘ice giants’ because we originally thought they were formed primarily from water ice. However, more recently we have found that they are mainly formed from water ice. Some people say it should be rock,” Hofstadter said. “Learning basic things about the interior, which can only be learned by going there in a spacecraft, can help us understand how these kinds of planets form and evolve. ”
Related: What is Uranus made of?
A naive earth-centered view
There is also the question of the possibility of Uranus’ astrobiology. History of reconnaissance in the outer solar system – Beyond the planet Mars — That was one of the surprises, Hofstadter said.
In fact, our naive geocentric view initially indicated that sunlight was needed to provide energy for life, and that beyond Mars would be a cold, inactive, dead world. I thought so.
“We now know that there is another way to heat icy objects in the outer solar system to create a liquid ocean,” Hofstadter said. “And we still believe that liquid water is essential for life and that the chemistry of life elsewhere may work differently than on Earth.”
satellites of uranus
Considering that, some satellites are Jupiter And Saturn is now most likely location to find in our solar system alien life.
“We don’t know enough about it. satellites of uranus “We don’t know if they harbor liquid oceans, but theoretical studies suggest it is possible,” Hofstadter said. “Also, some of Uranus’ moons have geologically young surfaces. “When combined with the Voyager images that show that there is a star, the following becomes plausible.” life may exist Under the icy crust of one of Uranus’ moons. ”
Hofstadter said some people put on a more speculative hat and ask if life exists. within Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, or Neptune.
“Such life would probably have a very different origin than that of Earth, and I don’t think anyone can say whether that’s plausible or not. “It’s not clear that it can be detected,” Hofstadter said.
strange world
Meanwhile, Earth-based research is also important for understanding Uranus. In addition to laboratory and theoretical studies, KISS research will rely on Earth-based and space-based observations of Uranus to help researchers properly interpret future in-situ probe measurements and ensure that visiting probes He explains that it may be possible to guide what measurements should be taken. Where should I make it?
Uranus is the seventh planet solar And the third largest world in our solar system. It’s definitely and defiantly a strange world, spinning at nearly 90 degrees from its orbital plane and appearing to be spinning sideways.
If the Uranus probe and probe actually fly, the surprises that will appear in the mysterious world will probably confuse even scientists.
