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So where are the extraterrestrial beings?
Not so very long ago, astronomers were theorising about life on practically every planet in the solar system whereas today the Earth is sometimes envisaged as the only haven for living beings... have the extraterrestrial beings disappeared in-between times?
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The rapid growth of New Space
For several years, entrepreneurs have been aspiring to develop a new approach to the space industry and targeting a reduction in launch costs. Is the private sector going to revolutionise human space flight?
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Avatar’s Venture Star
The spaceship from James Cameron’s film is far less fanciful than it appears and even plausibly deals with several problems posed by interstellar travel.
Solar system exploration probes Last update: 2010-05-21 10:51
| Mission: | Akatsuki |
|---|---|
| Agency(ies): | JAXA |
| Launch: | 2010-05-20 |
| Target: | Venus (orbiter) |
| Comments: | Launched on 20 May 2010, the Akatsuki probe will reach Venus in December 2010. It is to go into orbit around the second planet in the solar system in order to make a study of the atmosphere and assess whether volcanic activity still exists. |
Akatsuki blasting off from the Tanegashima Space Centre in Japan on 20 May 2010.
| Mission: | LRO |
|---|---|
| Agency(ies): | NASA |
| Launch: | 2009-06-18 |
| Target: | Moon (orbiter) |
| Comments: | Launched on 18 June 2009, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) will go into orbit around the Moon at an altitude of 50 km in order to draw up a detailed cartography. The orbiter will also be highly active looking to see whether water is present on our natural satellite in the form of ice, protected in certain craters in the permanently-shadowed regions at the poles. |
LRO and LCROSS blast off on 18 June 2009.
| Mission: | Dawn |
|---|---|
| Agency(ies): | NASA |
| Launch: | 2007-09-27 |
| Target: | Vesta then Ceres (orbiter) |
| Comments: | En route to Vesta for October 2011. Successful gravity assist manoeuvre on 17 February 2009 which consisted of a Mars flyby at a distance of 594 km. |
Mars photographed by Dawn during its flyby last February.
| Mission: | New Horizons |
|---|---|
| Agency(ies): | NASA |
| Launch: | 2006-01-19 |
| Target: | Pluto |
| Comments: | New Horizons flew by Jupiter in February 2007, enabling its scientific instrumentation to be tested and its trajectory to Pluto to be adjusted. The probe has now gone beyond Saturn’s orbit. |
Jupiter and Io, one of its moons (the image is a composite of two photographs taken separately).
| Mission: | Venus Express |
|---|---|
| Agency(ies): | ESA |
| Launch: | 2005-11-09 |
| Target: | Venus (orbiter) |
| Comments: | In scientific orbit. Mission recently given a one year extension by the European Space Agency. Venus Express has made spectacular advances possible in the understanding of this planet’s complex atmospheric mechanisms (notably the presence of a twin vortex at its poles). The probe is also looking for proof of active volcanic activity. |
The south pole of Venus in ultraviolet light.
| Mission: | Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter |
|---|---|
| Agency(ies): | NASA |
| Launch: | 2005-08-12 |
| Target: | Mars (orbiter) |
| Comments: | MRO (Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter) is equipped with several instruments including a camera capable of photographing the surface of Mars from orbit with a 25 cm resolution, which is a first. |
Phobos, one of Mars’ two small moons.
| Mission: | Deep Impact (EPOXI) |
|---|---|
| Agency(ies): | NASA |
| Launch: | 2005-01-12 |
| Target: | Comet Hartley 2 |
| Comments: | Reuse of the Deep Impact probe for making a comet flyby in October 2011. EPOXI is a combination of two acronyms: EPOCh (Extrasolar Planet Observation and Characterization) and DIXI (Deep Impact eXtended Investigation). During its journey, the probe is going to use its telescope for observing extrasolar planets (EPOCh). Once its objective has been reached, the spacecraft will examine comet Hartley 2 in detail (DIXI). |
On 4 July 2005, Deep Impact released an impactor which entered into collision with the core of comet Tempel 1, causing this dust plume.
| Mission: | Messenger |
|---|---|
| Agency(ies): | NASA |
| Launch: | 2004-08-02 |
| Target: | Mercury (orbiter) |
| Comments: | After having passed by the closest planet to the Sun three times, the probe is to begin orbiting Mercury in March 2011. |
A crescent of Mercury taken by Messenger during its flyby in October 2008.
| Mission: | Rosetta |
|---|---|
| Agency(ies): | ESA |
| Launch: | 2004-03-02 |
| Target: | Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko (orbiter and lander) |
| Comments: | En route to its destination (arrival scheduled for 2014). Successful flyby of asteroid Steins on 5 September 2008. |
Asteroid Steins taken by Rosetta in September 2008.
| Mission: | Opportunity |
|---|---|
| Agency(ies): | NASA |
| Launch: | 2003-07-07 |
| Target: | Mars (rover) |
| Comments: | Active and on extended mission. A little more than 20 km travelled over the surface of Mars as of 25 March 2010. |
Whilst heading towards a new study objective (Endeavour crater), Opportunity took photographs of the tracks that it was leaving in the Martian sand.
| Mission: | Spirit |
|---|---|
| Agency(ies): | NASA |
| Launch: | 2003-06-10 |
| Target: | Mars (rover) |
| Comments: | Active and on extended mission. 7.730 km travelled over the surface of Mars as of 28 January 2010. Trapped in the sand, Spirit is now to become a stationnary research platform. Read this Enjoy Space article. |
Colour view of Spirit’s current place of residence. This area is known as "Troy".
| Mission: | Mars Express |
|---|---|
| Agency(ies): | ESA |
| Launch: | 2003-02-06 |
| Target: | Mars (orbiter) |
| Comments: | In scientific orbit since December 2004 and on an extended mission. |
Hebes Chasma: an 8,000 m deep canyon in Valles Marineris.
| Mission: | 2001 Mars Odyssey |
|---|---|
| Agency(ies): | NASA |
| Launch: | 2001-04-07 |
| Target: | Mars (orbiter) |
| Comments: | Active - on extended mission. |
The north plains of Mars. The geological processes at work in these landscapes are still unknown.
| Mission: | Stardust (NExT) |
|---|---|
| Agency(ies): | NASA |
| Launch: | 1999-02-07 |
| Target: | Comet Tempel 1 |
| Comments: | Reuse of the Stardust probe to carry out a flyby of comet Tempel 1 in February 2014. |
The core of comet Wild 2 photographed by Stardust in January 2004.
| Mission: | Cassini |
|---|---|
| Agency(ies): | NASA/ESA/ASI |
| Launch: | 1997-10-15 |
| Target: | Saturn (orbiter) |
| Comments: | On extended mission. 6 and 22 June 2009: Titan flyby (965 and 955 km at closest approach). |
Backlit photograph of Saturn’s moon Titan taken by Cassini.
| Mission: | Voyager 1 |
|---|---|
| Agency(ies): | NASA |
| Launch: | 1977-09-05 |
| Target: | Outer solar system |
| Comments: | On extended mission. After having passed Jupiter and Saturn, the spacecraft is heading towards the limits of the solar system. It is currently 16.46 billion km away from the Sun (which is 110.036 times the mean Earth-Sun distance also known as Astronomical Unit or AU - approx. 150 million km). |
Composite image of Saturn and its moons combining photographs taken by Voyager 1 in November 1980.
| Mission: | Voyager 2 |
|---|---|
| Agency(ies): | NASA |
| Launch: | 1977-08-20 |
| Target: | Outer solar system |
| Comments: | On extended mission. After having crossed Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, the spacecraft is heading towards the outer limits of the solar system. It is currently 13.33 billion km away from the Sun (which is 89.145 times the mean Earth-Sun distance also known as Astronomical Unit or AU - approx. 150 million km). |
Voyager 2 passed Neptune in August 1989.
