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Old April 19th, 2023 #1
Nikola Bijeliti
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Default NASA plans could threaten the future of New Horizons

NASA plans could threaten the future of New Horizons
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The New Horizons mission currently flying through the Kuiper Belt could be facing an unexpected change of plans. NASA's Science Mission Directorate is soliciting input on turning the spacecraft into a heliospheric science probe. The agency wants to do it much sooner than mission planners intended. If that happens, it will stop further planned planetary exploration of objects in that distant regime of the solar system.

The changes NASA proposes come as a surprise since the spacecraft continues to perform Kuiper Belt object observations. And, it has received a very good recent senior science review. That report stated, "This is likely the only spacecraft humans will send through the outer solar system for at least 20–30 years. The investigations proposed are strengthened by the unique position of this asset."

More Kuiper Belt studies

To date, the mission continues to accomplish its planned science goals in planetary exploration. "We're doing a variety of Kuiper Belt science—including tracing the dust distribution from colliding KBOs out much farther than ever before," said Principal Investigator Alan Stern. "We're studying new, more distant KBOs from angles and closer ranges that you can't get from Earth to determine their surface properties, their satellite counts, and shapes, things that cannot be done well except by a spacecraft in the Kuiper Belt. And of course, we're on the prowl for a new flyby target if one can be found."

Stern points out that the mission has, through 2022, observed and characterized 36 Kuiper Belt objects. In addition, it has studied several dwarf planets from its unique vantage point in the Belt. Data from those observations help calculate the shapes, orbits, and surface textures of these very distant bodies.

What the science teams have found so far will help place some important constraints on KBO formation mechanisms. Future observations should also help the teams understand the processes driving the surface evolution and compositional differences between various KBOs.
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Old April 19th, 2023 #2
Ray Allan
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Why can't New Horizons do both? Not enough on-board instruments or computer power? Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 will go silent in a couple more years. I believe NH still has enough power in its nuclear generators to last until the 2030s, at least.
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Old September 29th, 2023 #3
Ray Allan
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NASA's New Horizons to Continue Exploring Outer Solar System

https://www.nasa.gov/missions/new-ho...-solar-system/
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