(ORDO NEWS) — Kathleen Mandt, a planetary scientist at the Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory, published a prospective article in Science arguing that NASA should send a special probe to the planet Uranus.
She notes that in 2032, a window opens for launching such a probe.
Planetary scientists have spent far more time studying Mars than other planets, partly because of its close proximity, and partly because Mars has a surface that aircraft can land on.
On the other hand, planets with dense atmospheres are more difficult to study, especially if there is no place to land on them.
Nevertheless, Mandt argues, such studies are important. And initiating the development of a probe to study Uranus, she adds, would be a good start.
Mandt notes that now is a good time to start planning, because the next good window to launch a probe to Uranus will be in 2032, when Jupiter’s alignment with Earth will allow for a “slingshot” maneuver towards Uranus.
She even suggests a name for the probe, Uranus Orbiter and Probe (UOP).
Uranus differs from other planets in the solar system in that it is tilted 90 degrees relative to its orbital path.
It looks like it’s rolling on a plane. The tilt also gives the planet extreme seasonal fluctuations as it orbits the Sun once every 84 years.
Only one spacecraft in all this time ventured to visit Uranus – Voyager II flew past it back in 1986.
Uranus is considered an ice giant because of the two heavy elements that make up the bulk of its atmosphere: helium and hydrogen.
It has 27 moons that orbit the planet following its strange tilt. Uranus also has a ring system.
Mandt notes that not much is known about this planet, which is why NASA needs to put the probe into a permanent orbit.
The probe would reveal the true nature of Uranus’ atmosphere, determine whether its core is made of rock or ice, and perhaps explain why it has such a strange slope.
It could also help in research aimed at studying how ice giants form.
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