Spaceflight Now: Breaking News

Scientists rush to propose Pluto mission
AMERICAN ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY NEWS RELEASE
Posted: January 26, 2001

On December 20, 2000, NASA announced that it would be soliciting proposals for a mission to the Pluto-Charon system and the Kuiper Belt beyond to arrive at Pluto by 2015. The formal announcement of opportunity was released January 19, 2001. Proposals are due on March 21, 2001.

Although this is not a guarantee that NASA will fly this mission, the Division for Planetary Science (DPS) of the American Astronomical Society applauds NASA's initiative in opening the process of developing a Pluto mission to the innovative ideas of the Planetary Science community and allowing open competition to help ensure a cost effective solution for this mission rather than to cancel it.

The extreme tilt of Pluto's rotational axis is causing more of its surface to be in constant darkness as its orbit carries it further away from the Sun. Its very thin atmosphere will at some point freeze out, precluding its study. Optimal conditions for studying Pluto and its moon Charon in situ will not return for 200 years.

In its press release of November 16, the executive Committee of the DPS called for increased competition and external peer review for all missions as a proven mechanism for seeking the most performance and return at reasonable cost. While this will be a very challenging mission to develop on a short schedule, it will be our best chance for centuries to visit and study the last unexplored planet in our solar system.