New horizons is nog onderweg naar Pluto... aankomst 2014
En volgend jaar wordt
Juno gelanceerd
Key things to know about Juno Spacecraft launches in August 2011 Five-year cruise to Jupiter, arriving July 2016 One year at Jupiter will complete the mission (orbiting the planet 32 times) Juno will improve our understanding of our solar system’s beginnings by revealing the origin and evolution of Jupiter.
Specifically, Juno will… Determine how much water is in Jupiter’s atmosphere, which helps determine which planet formation theory is correct (or if new theories are needed) Look deep into Jupiter’s atmosphere to measure composition, temperature, cloud motions and other properties Map Jupiter’s magnetic and gravity fields, revealing the planet’s deep structure Explore and study Jupiter’s magnetosphere near the planet’s poles, especially the auroras – Jupiter’s northern and southern lights – providing new insights about how the planet’s enormous magnetic force field affects its atmosphere.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010 Launches
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Nov. 1 +
Mission: STS-133
Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Discovery
Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center - Launch Pad 39A
Launch Time: 4:33 p.m. EDT
STS-133 Description: Space shuttle Discovery will deliver the Express Logistics Carrier 4 (ELC4), a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MLPM) and critical spare components to the International Space Station.
Date: Nov. 22
Mission: Glory
Launch Vehicle: Orbital Sciences Taurus Rocket
Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base - Launch Pad SLC 576-E
Launch Time: 2:09 a.m. PST/5:09 a.m. EST
Description: The Glory Mission will help increase our understanding of the Earth's energy balance by collecting data on the properties of aerosols and black carbon in the Earth's atmosphere and how the Sun's irradiance affects the Earth's climate.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2011 Launches
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Feb. 26 +
Mission: STS-134
Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Endeavour
Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center - Launch Pad 39A
Launch Time: 4:19 p.m. EST
STS-134 Description: Space shuttle Endeavour will deliver an EXPRESS Logistics Carrier-3 (ELC-3) and an Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) to the International Space Station.
Date: **
Mission: Aquarius
Launch Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Delta II 7320
Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base - SLC 2
Description: The Aquarius mission will provide the first-ever global maps of salt concentrations in the ocean surface needed to understand heat transport and storage in the ocean.
Date: Aug. 5
Mission: Juno
Launch Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Atlas V
Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
Description: The solar-powered Juno spacecraft is to orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times to find out more about the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere.
Date: Sept. 8
Mission: GRAIL
Launch Vehicle: ULA Delta II Heavy
Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
Description: The Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission's primary science objectives will be to determine the structure of the lunar interior from crust to core and to advance understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon.
Date: Oct. 18
Mission: NPP
Launch Vehicle: ULA Delta II
Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
Description: The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) mission for NASA and NOAA is to measure Earth's atmospheric and sea surface temperatures, humidity sounding, land and ocean biological activity and cloud and aerosol properties.
Date: Nov. 25 *
Mission: Mars Science Laboratory
Launch Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Atlas V
Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
Description: The Mars Science Laboratory is a rover that will assess whether Mars ever was, or is still today, an environment able to support microbial life and to determine the planet's habitability.
http://www.nasa.gov/missions/index.html[ Bericht 55% gewijzigd door -CRASH- op 21-07-2010 00:02:48 ]