It has been neglected. Mars, Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury have been visited by probes. Jupiter's moons are getting their own spaceship. The distant reaches of our Solar System have not had a single dedicated visitor to the ice giants.
A panel of experts from the US National Academies advise that the omission of planetary science in the new report be corrected. The committee put a Uranus probe at the top of their priority list for the next decade.
The US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has prepared a report on the Origins, Worlds, and Life: A Decadal Strategy for Planetary Science and Astrobiology.
It may be that it is time for Uranus to come.
The committee prioritized the UOP as the highest priority new spaceship mission for initiation in the decade of 2032.
The report stated that this probe would conduct a multi-year tour of Uranus, probing its stinky atmosphere. One of the most intriguing and mysterious major objects in the Solar System would be given an unprecedented wealth of information by the mission.
There is no doubt that Uranus is weird. The only planet in the Solar System that has been tipped sideways is it. It has rings like nothing else in the Solar System, it has leaking all over the place, and it emits mysterious X-rays.
The committee noted that the last probe to come close to the planet was in 1986 and that it suggests that there is more to know about the evolution of the Solar System.
The earliest launch window is in 2031, and planetary probes are a long game.
The scientists wrote that Uranus is one of the most intriguing bodies in the Solar System.
A primordial giant impact may have produced the planet's extreme tilt, although this is uncertain. The large ice-rock moons of Uranus have surprising evidence of geological activity in limited data.
Astrobiologists are interested in ocean worlds. The ocean floors of these geologically active bodies are thought to have volcanic vents that may allow the entire food web to thrive.
The bodies that have been identified in the Solar System are the most promising candidates for finding extraterrestrial life.
The committee identified the ocean world Enceladus as its second-most priority, with a mission named the Enceladus Orbilander. The ice covered body has been seen releasing fumes into space from its internal ocean. It is possible to assess the habitability of the ocean and even detect signs of life deep within.
A recommendation in the decadal report is not a guarantee that a mission will be initiated. The previous report, Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013-2022, recommended a Uranus mission, but at a lower priority.
The potential scientific gain from a mission to Uranus would be priceless. It could be the gain from an in-depth exploration.
The two highest priority missions in the previous survey were a Mars sample return mission and an ice moon with a suspected internal ocean. The two missions that made the cut are currently in development. This will bode well for our exploration of the outer Solar System.
Continuation of the Mars sample return mission, restoration of the Mars exploration program, continued support for lunar exploration, and improvement of the NASA program to find and track asteroids that pose a threat to life on Earth were some of the recommendations in the new report.
It may take a long time to reach any of these goals. The journey to the stars begins with small steps.
Robin Canup, co-chair of the National Academies, said that the report sets out an ambitious but practicable vision for planetary science, Astrobiology, and planetary defense in the next decade.
This recommended portfolio of missions, high-priority research activities, and technology development will produce significant advances in human knowledge and understanding about the origin and evolution of the Solar System, and of life and the habitability of other bodies beyond Earth.
You can get the full report for free from the National Academies website.
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