Abstract:
Space exploration is entering new paradigm: a greater number of planetary missions aim to go below the ground and explore in 3D and ultimately in 4D, the 4th dimension being time, since going down is going back in time. There are numerous exciting missions that will try to find life and uncover mineral and volatile resources in the Solar System. This presentation will provide details about some of these missions. NASA VIPER rover mission will land in the South Pole of the Moon in 2024 and search for water-ice and other volatiles. Water, in particular, is a valuable resource, not just to sustain human presence but when split into Oxygen and Hydrogen, it can be used in rocket propulsion. Dragonfly is a rotorcraft lander that will explore Saturn’ s moon Titan. It will launch in 2027 and land on Titan in 2034. For the following two years or more, it will fly to dozens of promising locations on Titan looking for prebiotic chemical processes common on both Titan and Earth. Finally, SLUSH is a nuclear-powered melt probe, 20 feet tall and a foot in diameter. It’ s goal is to penetrate over 10 miles of Jupiter’ s Europa ice to reach its ocean, and possibly find life. The project is in development stage and could fly in the next two decades!