4.7 KiB
| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planetary Missions Program Office | 2/2 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetary_Missions_Program_Office | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T13:14:01.724533+00:00 | kb-cron |
The New Frontiers program is the successor to the cancelled Outer Planet/Solar Probe (OPSP) program, a project which aimed to launch the Europa Orbiter astrobiology mission, the Pluto Kuiper Express reconnaissance mission, and the Solar Orbiter heliophysics mission. To reduce the growing costs of the OPSP, the Pluto Kuiper Express was cancelled in 2000 by then-Science Mission Directorate Edward J. Weiler, who subsequently accepted proposals for a replacement mission and modelled the competition after the Discovery program's AOs. The New Horizons mission was chosen to replace Pluto Kuiper Express in the OPSP program in November 2001, though the entire program, including the Europa Orbiter, New Horizons, and Solar Probe, was cancelled by Administrator of NASA Sean O'Keefe in February 2002, shortly after his appointment by President George W. Bush. O'Keefe cited a need for a restructuring of NASA and its projects, falling in line with the Bush Administration's wish for NASA to refocus on "research and development, and addressing management shortcomings." The New Horizons team successfully lobbied for the funding and development of their mission, appearing at the top of the National Research Council's Planetary Science Decadal Survey for 2003–2013. Weiler and then-Solar System Exploration Division Director Colleen Hartman established the New Frontiers program in 2003 to help fund and launch New Horizons and future proposals from the Decadal Survey. New Horizons was launched as the program's first mission on January 20, 2006, and successfully performed the first reconnaissance of Pluto and its moons in July 2015. An extended mission is underway to observe Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs), including a flyby of 486958 Arrokoth in January 2019. In the first New Frontiers AO, Juno, a mission to investigate the interior of Jupiter, was selected over the MoonRise lunar sample return mission. Juno launched on August 5, 2011, and arrived at Jupiter in July 2016. In May 2011, the OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission was selected over MoonRise and SAGE for the program's third mission. OSIRIS-REx launched on September 8, 2016, and will arrive at the Near-Earth object (NEO) 101955 Bennu in August 2018. The program's fourth mission is Dragonfly, which will launch in 2028 and arrive on Titan in the mid-2030s. Missions
New Horizons, launched 2006, operational – flyby reconnaissance of Pluto and Kuiper belt objects. Juno, launched 2011, operational – interior and magnetosphere study of Jupiter. OSIRIS-REx, launched 2016, operational – orbital reconnaissance and sample return from 101955 Bennu. Dragonfly, launching in 2028, future – exploration of the surface of Titan.
=== Solar System Exploration program ===
In late 2014, the Solar System Exploration program was established alongside the Planetary Missions Program Office to "execute prioritized planetary science." The first mission of the program is DART, an asteroid deflection test targeting 65803 Didymos that launched in 2021. Originally a component of AIDA, DART's impact was intended to be observed by ESA's AIM orbiter, which would continue to study Didymos from orbit. However, the ESA Council at ministerial level cancelled the AIM mission in favour of funding for the ExoMars 2020 rover, citing budget concerns. Despite the cancellation of AIM, NASA committed to their original plan, opting to continue solely with DART. DART successfully impacted Dimorphos, the moon of asteroid 65803 Didymos, on September 26, 2022. Two Europa astrobiology missions are scheduled in the Solar System Exploration program. The Europa Clipper was launched on October 14, 2024, on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy. The ESA JUICE mission to study Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto will use the NASA-built, Solar System Exploration Program-funded Ultraviolet Spectrograph (UVS) and parts of the Particle Environment Package (PEP) and Radar for Icy Moons Exploration (RIME) instruments. Missions
DART, launched 2021, completed – impact technology demonstration on 65803 Didymos's satellite. JUICE, launched 2023, Operational – astrobiology study of Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. Europa Clipper, launched 2024, Operational – subsurface ocean and habitability study of Europa.
== Timeline ==
== See also ==
European Space Agency Science Programme Explorers Program Large strategic science missions Mars Exploration Program Ocean Worlds Exploration Program
== References ==
== External links ==
Planetary Missions Program Office at NASA NASA Planetary Missions Program at Facebook