Interstellar Probe (spacecraft)
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''Interstellar Probe'' (''ISP'') is a proposed
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
space probe A space probe is an artificial satellite that travels through space to collect scientific data. A space probe may orbit Earth; approach the Moon; travel through interplanetary space; flyby, orbit, or land or fly on other planetary bodies; or ...
designed to explore and characterize the
heliosphere The heliosphere is the magnetosphere, astrosphere and outermost atmospheric layer of the Sun. It takes the shape of a vast, bubble-like region of space. In plasma physics terms, it is the cavity formed by the Sun in the surrounding interstell ...
and
interstellar space Outer space, commonly shortened to space, is the expanse that exists beyond Earth and its atmosphere and between celestial bodies. Outer space is not completely empty—it is a near-perfect vacuum containing a low density of particles, predo ...
. The study was originally proposed in 2018 by NASA for the
Applied Physics Laboratory The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (Applied Physics Laboratory, or APL) is a not-for-profit university-affiliated research center (UARC) in Howard County, Maryland. It is affiliated with Johns Hopkins University and emplo ...
. It would have a baseline launch between 2036 and 2041. The probe would launch on a direct hyperbolic trajectory to encounter
Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandth t ...
after six to seven months, after which the probe would travel at a speed of about per year, leaving the heliosphere after only 16 years. The probe may have the opportunity to encounter minor planets on the way out, including
Orcus Orcus ( la, Orcus) was a god of the underworld, punisher of broken oaths in Etruscan and Roman mythology. As with Hades, the name of the god was also used for the underworld itself. In the later tradition, he was conflated with Dis Pater. A ...
and
Quaoar Quaoar (50000 Quaoar), provisional designation , is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a region of icy planetesimals beyond Neptune. A non-resonant object (cubewano), it measures approximately in diameter, about half the diameter of Pluto. T ...
, though such flybys would require specific launch dates. With next-generation
radioisotope thermoelectric generators A radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG, RITEG), sometimes referred to as a radioisotope power system (RPS), is a type of nuclear battery that uses an array of thermocouples to convert the heat released by the decay of a suitable radioact ...
(RTGs), the mission would be designed to last for over fifty years after its launch, a similar feat reached by the ''
Voyager 1 ''Voyager 1'' is a space probe launched by NASA on September 5, 1977, as part of the Voyager program to study the outer Solar System and interstellar space beyond the Sun's heliosphere. Launched 16 days after its twin ''Voyager 2'', ''Voya ...
'' and '' 2'' probes despite their intended 5-year lifetime. The mission has been called "''Voyager'' on steroids".


Mission background

Interstellar probes such as the
Voyager program The Voyager program is an American scientific program that employs two robotic interstellar probes, ''Voyager 1'' and ''Voyager 2''. They were launched in 1977 to take advantage of a favorable alignment of Jupiter and Saturn, to fly near t ...
were made only with the intent to visit the outer planets, with the added interstellar mission as a mere bonus. Their lifetime had never been expected to be much longer than 12 years at the most, but the probes have lasted for upwards of four decades thus far. Both ''Voyagers'' left the heliosphere in the 2010s; ''Voyager 1'' in 2013, and ''2'' in 2018. While their readings have been valuable, many of their instruments have been shut off due to a lack of power in their RTGs. In addition, neither of them are headed toward the IBEX ribbon, a region discovered by the
Interstellar Boundary Explorer Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX or Explorer 91 or SMEX-10) is a NASA satellite in Earth orbit that uses energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) to image the interaction region between the Solar System and interstellar space. The mission is part o ...
where energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) seem to highly affect the heliosphere and are able to breach it at unprecedented rates.


Primary science goals

The main goals of the ''Interstellar'' mission include characterizing the heliosphere as a habitable astrosphere by its global nature, its interactions with the Sun and the interstellar medium, and the nature of said interstellar medium. Similar goals may include viewing the Sun as a habitable exoplanetary system from beyond, with potential outbound giant or dwarf planet flybys along the way depending on chosen launch date, and understanding the universe from beyond the heliosphere.


Scientific instruments

The probe would contain two differing scientific payloads, both weighing about . One would prioritize Lyman-alpha science, whereas the other would prioritize visible and infrared imaging of flyby targets. Payloads highlighted in red are exclusive to the baseline payload. Instruments in green are intended for the augmented flyby payload.


Mission operations


Launch and trajectories

The baseline launch would be in 2036 using a
Space Launch System The Space Launch System (SLS) is an American super heavy-lift expendable launch vehicle developed by NASA. As of 2022, SLS has the highest payload capacity of any rocket in operational service, as well as the greatest liftoff thrust of any r ...
in its Block 2 configuration, featuring an additional Centaur and Star 48BV booster. This launch would put the probe on a direct trajectory to Jupiter, and after a mere seven months the probe would make a gravity assist to speed out at about 95 km/s (about 216000 mph). Alternative trajectories include bringing the Star 48 booster for a burn upon closest approach; one trajectory involving that burn at Jupiter with a slightly longer transit time, and another with about the same transit time, but passing ahead of Jupiter for a dive down near the Sun for an even faster escape trajectory. Further trajectory options have been considered, including performing flybys of Saturn,
Uranus Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. Its name is a reference to the Greek god of the sky, Uranus ( Caelus), who, according to Greek mythology, was the great-grandfather of Ares (Mars), grandfather of Zeus (Jupiter) and father of ...
, or Neptune depending on launch date to help characterize planetary formation and complement missing data sets, and dwarf planets to help characterize them as '' New Horizons'' did in 2015 with its flyby of
Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Sun. It is the largest ...
.


See also

* ''
Interstellar Express ''Interstellar Express'' or ''Interstellar Heliosphere Probe'' (), is the current name for a proposed Chinese National Space Administration program designed to explore the heliosphere and interstellar space. The program will feature two space ...
'', a proposed pair of probes by China made to explore the outer solar system and heliosphere. * '' New Horizons'', a
Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Sun. It is the largest ...
flyby mission by NASA currently en route to explore the interstellar medium.


References

{{Asteroid spacecraft NASA space probes Proposed space probes Missions to Jupiter Missions to minor planets