New Mars Forums

Official discussion forum of The Mars Society and MarsNews.com

You are not logged in.

Announcement

Announcement: As a reader of NewMars forum, we have opportunities for you to assist with technical discussions in several initiatives underway. NewMars needs volunteers with appropriate education, skills, talent, motivation and generosity of spirit as a highly valued member. Write to newmarsmember * gmail.com to tell us about your ability's to help contribute to NewMars and become a registered member.

#1 2022-06-29 09:13:19

Mars_B4_Moon
Member
Registered: 2006-03-23
Posts: 8,898

Nuclear Neptune Orbiter?

Not sure if confirmed officially, as of 2022, there are no confirmed future missions to visit the Neptunian system

However...

https://twitter.com/exploreplanets/stat … 1347420160

Chinese planetary scientists and engineers are setting their sights on the outer Solar System and proposing major technological leaps to make it happen.

https://www.planetary.org/articles/chin … ne-orbiter

NASA once had plans for this
https://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=1442
Neptune Orbiter with Probes - ...part of NASA's "Vision Missions"

NASA, ESA plus other independent academic groups have proposed ideas and talked about future scientific missions to visit Neptune, there were more ideas put forward after 'Cassini'. Hubble Space Telescope and the ground-based observatory like the Keck telescope have enough power to study Neptune directly but gathering limited info. Neptune has interesting weather an Anti-Cyclone System and 'Great Spot' it's magnetic field was found to be highly tilted and largely offset from the planet's centre, Triton is a very interesting active Moon,  it is the seventh-largest moon in the Solar System it displays the fluid mechanics of hydrostatic equilibrium or hydrostatic balance, it may have been an old dwarf planet, captured from the Kuiper belt,  it shows signs of cryovolcanism, a possible thin atmosphere and tectonic terrains, in year 1997 observatory from Earth watched Triton as it passed in front of stars and results indicated the presence of a denser atmosphere than was deduced from Voyager 2 data meaning its atmosphere might go through rapid changes like other unusual Moons and strange Planets.

The United States has sent a mission to fly by Neptune, it has been directly explored by one NASA space probe Voyager 2 flyby, in 1989

There is currently no indication of the status of this pre-research publication, which was funded by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). However, the proposal is a strong indication and reflection of where China’s space industry officials are looking in terms of capabilities and destinations for exploration.

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2022-06-29 09:15:06)

Offline

#2 2022-07-02 17:44:24

Mars_B4_Moon
Member
Registered: 2006-03-23
Posts: 8,898

Re: Nuclear Neptune Orbiter?

Neptune’s blue hue
https://physicsworld.com/a/neptunes-blu … ace-cakes/

Neptune has a more active, turbulent atmosphere than Uranus, and the researchers found that Neptune is more efficient at churning up more gaseous methane where it can then produce snow.

Given that this action removes the haze, it results in a thinner haze layer than on Uranus. The result being that Neptune appears bluer than Uranus. So, now you know.

Offline

#3 2022-10-09 16:38:47

Mars_B4_Moon
Member
Registered: 2006-03-23
Posts: 8,898

Re: Nuclear Neptune Orbiter?

News reports and Rumors say China might go to Neptune and there were also reports of a double Jupiter and Uranus fly by mission or Nuclear powered space craft.

IHP mission or Interstellar Express is the current name for a proposed Chinese National Space Administration program designed to [perhaps flyby Neptune or explore the heliosphere and interstellar space
https://spacenews.com/china-to-launch-a … ar-system/

IAC presentation, Tianwen-4 starts at 41:30
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kfsjKW4FS0

They have interest in the Moon of Jupiter named Callisto

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2022-10-09 16:39:20)

Offline

#4 2023-03-01 05:48:56

Mars_B4_Moon
Member
Registered: 2006-03-23
Posts: 8,898

Re: Nuclear Neptune Orbiter?

Journey to a cold and curious moon

https://thespacereview.com/article/4540/1

Four hours and six seconds after they had been taken at Neptune, the images from Voyager 2 reached Earth in August 1989, and they showed something weird. Triton, a large moon that orbits Neptune backwards, opposite the direction that most of the other moons in the solar system do, had some dark splotches on its cold icy surface. Planetary scientists enhanced them and processed them and saw what looked like plumes of gas geysering up from the moon and then bending at a 90-degree angle as they hit upper-level winds. Triton, which by all means should have been a cold, dead icy rock at the edge of the solar system, was active; way more active than anybody would have ever thought.

That was more than three decades ago. In 2019, a group of planetary scientists proposed a mission to go back to look, hoping to crack open Triton’s secrets and maybe shake up our understanding of where life can exist in the universe. Their proposal was not selected in 2021, but the mission illustrates the science still to be done at the cold edges of our solar system and provides a blueprint for how missions to the edge of the solar system could be conducted on a budget.

Offline

Board footer

Powered by FluxBB