spacetoday.net: Planetary science decadal recommends missions to Uranus and Enceladus

Planetary science decadal recommends missions to Uranus and Enceladus

Posted: Sun, Apr 24, 2022, 8:23 AM ET (1223 GMT)
The new planetary science decadal survey recommended NASA continue its Mars Sample Return campaign and develop new missions to Uranus and Enceladus. The report, released Tuesday, endorsed Mars Sample Return as the "highest scientific priority" of its robotic planetary exploration efforts. It recommended that NASA start work on a mission to orbit Uranus and deploy an atmospheric probe and an "orbilander" that would orbit and later land on Enceladus, a potentially habitable icy moon of Saturn. Other recommendations include a robotic lunar rover that would collect samples that NASA astronauts would return and a Mars lander to look for evidence of life. Those missions and others would fit into a budget that grows 17.5% over the next decade.