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NASA is rumored to be designing a spacecraft that will be launched to run the mission of planetary expedition Uranus and Neptune, After Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto, NASA began focusing on preparing a major project expediting the planets Uranus and Neptune.
The project, which has been planned since September 2015, can only be realized now. After all, NASA still has to initiate a number of technological innovations qualified, so that spaceships can fly into the orbit of the planet nicknamed 'Planet Beloved' is.
Thus, if calculated, Uranus and Neptune expeditions can only begin in 2030. It is also new Uranus. As for Neptune, it is likely to start in mid-2030 or after 2040.
According to information, Monday (6/19/2017), the main purpose of the expedition is done is to monitor the ecosystem of the two planets.
Not only that, the United States Space Agency is also looking to find out what the planetary material is made of, and the composition of the atmosphere that lines the planet.
Mechanically, NASA will send a probe (small plane) to plunge into the planet's atmosphere and take a sample of the gas contained in it. Similar to other planetary expeditions, the probe will transmit data from samples taken to Earth for in-depth study.
Related to the readiness of the expedition vehicle, NASA is currently conducting research at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to design Uranus and Neptune spacecraft, which will also be completed at least in 2030.
One of the main obstacles to the process of making this new spacecraft is the amount of research and development funds, which is predicted to reach US $ 2 billion.
Compared to previous NASA missions, such as Discovery or New Frontier, the mission of Uranus and Neptune expeditions cost more.
"The big problem for us to be able to run missions to Neptune and Uranus is the huge cost," said Jim Green, head of NASA's Planetary Science division.
NASA plans to fly a spacecraft to study in depth the planets Uranus and Neptune, has actually been planned since 26 years ago. However, it can only be realized now. The reason, NASA hit a lot of problems and look forward to major funding support.
In addition to funding issues, the mission of the expedition to the ice planet duo is also hampered by the problem of Plutonium supplies that become the raw fuel of spacecraft.
"Flights to Uranus and Neptune will depend on nuclear-powered devices that will be plutonium-powered," Green explained.
Until now, scientists can only speculate that Uranus and Neptune consist of rocks, ice, and ammonia (a collection of hydrogen and nitrogen), so the two planets are also often called the giant ice planet.