A new scientific article says that it is necessary to study all the secrets of Uranus and its satellites in the near future.
Astrophysicist Kathleen Mandt of NASA has published a new scientific paper in which she urges the agency to build a new spacecraft in the near future and send it to explore Uranus. This ice giant is a very strange planet, and its moons may have underground oceans that support life, writes Futurism.
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Kathleen Mandt believes that it is necessary not to delay the creation of a spacecraft, codenamed Uranus Orbiter and Probe, in order to send it to explore Uranus and its satellites by 2032.
The scientist proposes to create a spacecraft that will consist of two vehicles – an orbital, which will study the entire planet from space, as well as its satellites, and a probe that will descend into the atmosphere of Uranus.
Mandt believes that the study of Uranus, which is an ice giant, can help in the study of other exoplanets outside the solar system. It turns out that mysterious planets like Uranus are among the most common in the universe, according to recent research.
Mandt believes that the study of Uranus, which is an ice giant, can help in the study of other exoplanets outside the solar system. It turns out that mysterious planets like Uranus are among the most common in the universe, according to recent research.
Photo: wikipedia
While gas giants such as Jupiter and Saturn are mostly gas, Uranus and Neptune, which are called ice giants (although they are actually gas giants), have heavier elements in their composition. But until now, Uranus, like Neptune, remain the most mysterious planets in the solar system, because scientists received most of the information about them only thanks to the Voyager spacecraft back in the 1980s. But this information is clearly not enough.
“We still have too many questions that we don’t have answers to, so we should not delay sending a spacecraft to Uranus and it’s better to do it by 2032,” says Mandt.
On the other hand, a future mission to Uranus has already received NASA’s highest implementation priority for the next decade.
“This mission will help to learn about how Uranus was formed, will help unravel its main mysteries, and we will also be able to learn more about its rings, as well as satellites that may hide underground oceans with liquid water, where there could be potential life,” – says Mandt.
While gas giants such as Jupiter and Saturn are mostly gas, Uranus and Neptune, which are called ice giants (although they are actually gas giants), have heavier elements in their composition. But until now, Uranus, like Neptune, remain the most mysterious planets in the solar system, because scientists received most of the information about them only thanks to the Voyager spacecraft back in the 1980s. But this information is clearly not enough.
Below: X-ray: NASA/CXO/University College London
Uranus, this pale blue ice giant, is between 2.6 and 3.15 billion km from Earth, depending on the time of year on this planet. It makes a complete revolution around the Sun in 84 years and scientists know about the existence of 9 rings around the planet, as well as 27 satellites. One of the most important oddities of the planet is the tilt of the axis of rotation, because it is the only planet in the solar system that revolves around the sun, as if lying on its side.
“It is believed that this position of Uranus in space could be caused by a collision of the planet with another object. But can a new spacecraft find out this way. We will also be able to get more information about the internal structure of the ice giant, what it consists of, about what is happening in its atmosphere, what temperature it is in. Uranus also has a very unusual magnetic field, and we don’t yet know how Uranus creates it,” says Mandt.
Size comparison of Uranus and Earth
Photo: wikipedia
At the same time, scientists have noticed some geological activity on some of the moons of Uranus, which may indicate that they are melting oceans of liquid water in their depths. And where there is water, there can be microbial life, says Mandt. Also, according to the scientist, the new mission may help to discover previously unknown satellites of the ice giant.
“The mission to Uranus will not only help reveal the main secrets of the planet, but also shed light on the evolution of the solar system. It will also be the first step towards a thorough study of Neptune, which also leaves many questions unanswered,” says Mandt.
About when scientists discovered Uranus, how long it takes to fly to the planet, how cold it is here, as well as other features of the ice giant Focus already wrote in detail.
Also Focus wrote that scientists have put forward a new hypothesis that explains why the axis of rotation of Uranus has such an unusual tilt.
As already wrote Focus, last fall, netizens proposed their names for a spacecraft that should fly to Uranus. Some of the potential names might surprise you a lot.
As for Neptune, which is also in line for careful study, then Focus already wrote in detail and the main features of this ice giant, which is the last, eighth, planet of the solar system.
