Some U.S. space experts are now asking NASA to prioritize Uranus, one of the unvisited planets in the solar system.
They shared this idea through the prestigious National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), a collective scientific national academy of the United States.
NASEM has been conducting a survey called the Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal. The latest one covers suggestions that NASA needs to prioritize from 2030 until 2032.
The survey "will assess key scientific questions in planetary science and astrobiology, identify priority medium- and large-class missions and other initiatives," said NASEM via its official website.
US Space Experts Now Prioritize Uranus?
According to The Verge's latest report, various planetary experts across the United States are now asking NASA to conduct an interplanetary probe specifically for Uranus studies.
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The new space mission they refer to is the Uranus Orbiter and Probe (UOP), which will send a spacecraft into orbit around the ice giant planet.
Aside from this, the rocket for UOP will also send a probe that will enter the planet's atmosphere. However, unlike other space missions for Mars, the probe will not land on the surface of Uranus since it is a gas giant.
Just like Jupiter, it has no solid surface, making the UOP mission harder than other missions. When it comes to the launch date, the U.S. scientists estimated that NASA will send the interplanetary mission to Uranus around 2030.
To make this possible, the international space union needs to start working on the spaceflight as early as 2023. As of press time, NASA hasn't confirmed if it will consider the suggestion of the U.S. planetary scientists.
Why is Uranus Important?
Various space experts stated that Uranus could offer new information about ice giants. Since this gas giant is very far from the Sun, it hasn't been studied by NASA and other space agencies.
On the other hand, the recent life-searching space missions discovered that giant ice planets are among the most common heavenly bodies in the universe.
This is why they want to make Uranus one of the priorities in the upcoming space activities of NASA this coming 2030.
Recently, new Sun plasma ejections alarmed some experts since they can lead to harmful magnetic discharge.
On the other hand, NASA's new statistical framework is now considered because of some alarming findings of the Moon Wobble 2030.
For more news updates about Uranus and other space topics, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.
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Written by: Griffin Davis
