The Year of the Solar System   
       
   Oct. 7, 2010:  To mark an unprecedented flurry of exploration which is about   
   to begin, NASA announced today that the coming year will be "The Year of the   
   Solar System" (YSS).   
       
   "During YSS, we'll see triple the [usual] number of launches, flybys and   
   orbital insertions," says Jim Green, Director of Planetary Science at NASA   
   headquarters. "There hasn't been anything quite like it in the history of the   
   Space Age.   
       
   Naturally, it's a Martian year.   
       
   "These events will unfold over the next 23 months, the length of a year on the   
   Red Planet" explains Green. "History will remember the period Oct. 2010   
   through Aug. 2012 as a golden age of planetary exploration."   
       
   The action begins near the end of October 2010 with a visit to Comet Hartley   
   2. On Oct. 20th, Hartley 2 will have a close encounter with Earth; only 11   
   million miles away, it will be faintly visible to the naked eye and become a   
   splendid target for backyard telescopes. Amateur astronomers can watch the   
   comet as NASA's Deep Impact/EPOXI spacecraft dives into its vast green   
   atmosphere and plunges toward the icy core. On Nov. 4th EPOXI will fly a mere   
   435 miles from Hartley's nucleus, mapping the surface and studying outbursts   
   of gas at close-range.   
       
   Later in November, NASA astrobiologists will launch O/OREOS, a shoebox-sized   
   satellite designed to test the durability of life in space. Short for   
   "Organism/ORganic Exposure to Orbital Stresses," O/OREOS will expose a   
   collection of organic molecules and microbes to solar and cosmic radiation.   
   Could space be a natural habitat for these "micronauts?" O/OREOS may provide   
   some answers. Bonus: The same rocket that delivers O/OREOS to space will carry   
   an experimental solar sail. NanoSail-D will unfurl in Earth orbit and circle   
   our planet for months. Occasionally, the sail will catch a sunbeam and   
   redirect it harmlessly to the ground below where sky watchers can witness   
   history's first "solar sail flares."   
       
   On December 7, 2010, Japan's Akatsuki (Venus Climate Orbiter) spacecraft grabs   
   the spotlight when it enters orbit around Venus. The mission aims to   
   understand how a planet so similar to Earth in size and orbit went so terribly   
   wrong. Venus is bone-dry, shrouded by acid clouds, and beset by a case of   
   global warming hot enough to melt lead. Instruments on Akatsuki will probe   
   Venus from the top of its super-cloudy atmosphere all the way to the   
   volcano-pocked surface below, providing the kind of detailed information   
   researchers need for comparative planetary.   
       
   "Take a deep breath," says Green, "because that was just the first three   
   months of YSS!"   
       
   The action continues in 2011 as Stardust NExT encounters comet Tempel 1   
   (February 14), MESSENGER enters orbit around Mercury (March 18), and Dawn   
   begins its approach to asteroid Vesta (May).   
       
   "For a full month Dawn will be able to see Vesta even more clearly than Hubble   
   can," marvels Green. "The only way to top that would be to go into orbit."   
       
   And that is exactly what Dawn will do in July 2011: insert itself into orbit   
   for a full-year study of the second-most massive body in the asteroid belt.   
   Although Vesta is not classified as a planet, it is a full-fledged alien world   
   that is expected to mesmerize researchers as it reveals itself to Dawn's   
   cameras.   
       
   Next comes the launch of the Juno spacecraft to Jupiter (August), the launch   
   of GRAIL to map the gravitational field of the Moon (September), and the   
   launch of a roving science lab named "Curiosity" to Mars (November).   
       
   "The second half of 2011 will be as busy as some entire decades of the Space   
   Age," says Green.   
       
   Even then, YSS has months to go.   
       
   2012 opens with Mars rover Opportunity running the first-ever Martian   
   marathon. The dogged rover is trundling toward the heart of Endeavour Crater,   
   a city-sized impact basin almost two dozen miles from Opportunity's original   
   landing site.   
       
   "Opportunity is already under the influence of the crater," says Green. "The   
   ground beneath the rover's wheels is sloping gently down toward its   
   destination-a welcome feeling for any marathoner."   
       
   Sometime in mid-2012, Opportunity will reach Endeavour's lip and look over the   
   edge deeper into the heart of Mars than any previous robotic explorer. The   
   only thing more marvelous than the view will be the rover itself. Originally   
   designed to travel no more than 0.6 miles, Opportunity's rest stop at   
   Endeavour will put it just miles away from finishing the kind of epic Greek   
   run that athletes on Earth can only dream about.   
       
   Meanwhile, halfway across the solar system, Dawn will fire up its ion engines   
   and prepare to leave Vesta. For the first time in space history, a spacecraft   
   orbiting one alien world will break orbit and take off for another. Dawn's   
   next target is dwarf planet Ceres, nearly spherical, rich in water ice, and   
   totally unexplored.   
       
   The Year of the Solar System concludes in August 2012 when Curiosity lands on   
   Mars. The roving nuclear-powered science lab will take off across the red   
   sands sniffing the air for methane (a possible sign of life) and sampling   
   rocks and soil for organic molecules. Curiosity's advanced sensors and   
   unprecedented mobility are expected to open a new chapter in exploration of   
   the Red Planet.   
       
   "So the end," says Green, "is just the beginning. These missions will keep us   
   busy long after YSS is history."   
       
       
   Author: Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit: Science@NASA   
       
   More Information   
   Mission home pages:EPOXI, Venus Climate Orbiter, Dawn, Juno, MESSENGER,   
   Stardust NExT, GRAIL, Opportunity, Curiosity   
       
       
   Regards,   
       
   Roger   
      
   --- D'Bridge 3.55   
    * Origin: NCS BBS (1:3828/7)