The Enceladus Orbilander Mission

TL;DR

NASA's decadal survey prioritizes missions to study Uranus and determine if Enceladus has life.

Transcript

Several days ago the National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine released their decadal survey for Planetary Science and Astrobiology outlining a plan for what to prioritize for the period of 2023 to 2032. These decadal surveys are sought by NASA to determine which missions should take priority as far as funding. While not bound to the ... Read More

Key Insights

• 🦮 NASA's decadal survey guides funding priorities for planetary science and astrobiology missions.
• 🚨 Studying Uranus can shed light on ice giant planets, which may be common in the universe.
• 👨‍🔬 The Enceladus Orbilander mission aims to directly search for microbial life in the moon's subsurface ocean.
• 👽 Landing on Enceladus will provide the opportunity to explore an alien-looking landscape and potentially capture images of surface features and potential life.
• 🥶 Enceladus's plumes offer an accessible route to studying its subsurface ocean without drilling through the ice.
• 🤘 A suite of instruments, including a mass spectrometer and microscope, will be used to search for signs of life on Enceladus.
• 🛬 Approval and funding are necessary for the Enceladus Orbilander mission, which could delay its arrival at Saturn until 2040 or later.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine released a decadal survey for Planetary Science and Astrobiology, outlining priorities for 2023-2032.

• A mission to study Uranus, including an atmospheric probe and orbiter, takes the top spot, as Uranus is one of the least understood planets.

• The second priority is a mission to determine if Enceladus has life, offering a unique opportunity to directly search for microbial life in its subsurface ocean.