Current Mission in the Solar System

Education News | Mar-20-2023

Current Mission in the Solar System

Since the beginning of the Space Age, a major objective of human spaceflight has been to investigate our solar system. Numerous ongoing missions to various planets, moons, and asteroids in our solar system are providing novel insights into the origins and development of our cosmic community. We will examine some of the current missions in the solar system and their goals in this article.

The Perseverance Mars Rover from NASA:
NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover, which landed on the Red Planet in February 2021, is the most well-known mission currently underway. The primary goal of the rover is to look for evidence of ancient microbial life. It will also study the planet's climate and geology, collect samples to send back to Earth, and test new technologies that could make it easier for humans to go to Mars in the future.

Mission of NASA's Juno:
NASA's Juno mission, which has been in orbit around Jupiter since 2016, is another ongoing endeavor. To better comprehend how Jupiter and other giant planets formed and evolved, Juno's primary mission is to investigate the interior, atmosphere, and magnetosphere of the gas giant. The planet's internal structure, magnetic field, and powerful auroras have all been better-understood thanks to Juno.

BepiColombo's Mission at ESA:
The BepiColombo mission of the European Space Agency is currently traveling to Mercury and is expected to arrive there in 2025. The two spacecraft, one built by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the other by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), will investigate Mercury's interior, surface, and magnetosphere to learn more about the planet's formation and evolution. Additionally, BepiColombo will test new technologies that could be utilized on subsequent missions to the inner solar system.

The New Horizons Project of NASA:
The New Horizons mission of NASA is most well-known for its historic 2015 flyby of Pluto, but the spacecraft is still operational and has studied other objects in the Kuiper Belt, a region of the solar system beyond Neptune's orbit. In January 2019, New Horizons will fly by a small Kuiper Belt object known as 2014 MU69, which is its next target. The primary objective of the mission is to learn more about the early history of our solar system by investigating the atmosphere, geology, and composition of these faraway worlds.

OSIRIS-REx's Mission for NASA:
The OSIRIS-REx mission of NASA is currently surveying the asteroid Bennu to select a sampling location. A robotic arm in the spacecraft will land on the asteroid's surface, collect a sample of its material, and bring it back to Earth for analysis. The primary objective of the mission is to better comprehend planet formation and evolution by investigating the asteroid's composition and structure, which are thought to be remnants from the early solar system.

Conclusion:
Unprecedented insights into the origins and development of our cosmic neighborhood are being provided by ongoing missions to various solar system planets, moons, and asteroids. Not only are these missions helping us learn more about the solar system, but they are also putting new technologies to the test that could make it easier for humans to go to other planets in the future. The exploration of the solar system is about to enter an exciting new phase thanks to these ongoing missions, and there is a lot more to come.

By : Parth Yadav
Anand School of Excellence

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