Enceladus_Orbilander

Enceladus Orbilander

Enceladus Orbilander

Proposed NASA space probe to Saturn's moon Enceladus

The Enceladus Orbilander is a proposed NASA Flagship mission to Saturn's moon Enceladus. The Enceladus Orbilander would spend a year and a half orbiting Enceladus and sampling its water plumes, which stretch into space, before landing on the surface for a two-year mission to study materials for evidence of life. The mission, with an estimated cost of $4.9 billion, could launch in the late 2030s on a Space Launch System or Falcon Heavy with a landing in the early 2050s. It was proposed in the 2023–2032 Planetary Science Decadal Survey as the third highest priority Flagship mission, after the Uranus Orbiter and Probe and the Mars Sample Return program.[1]

Enceladus' south pole, captured by NASA's Cassini-Huygens spacecraft, 2015

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Foust, Jeff (19 April 2022). "Planetary science decadal endorses Mars sample return, outer planets missions". SpaceNews. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
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