Outer Planets Flagship

Program Home Page: http://www.lpi.usra.edu/opag/

The Galileo and Cassini missions to Jupiter and Saturn have greatly deepened our understanding of those giant planets and their intriguing moons. But they have also raised more questions. With Cassini nearing the end of its lifetime, it is time to plan the next flagship-class mission to the outer planets. Three mission concepts are currently under study for a new mission to launch in the 2016-17 time frame, with a selection of mission concept and destination expected at the end of this year.

Information about the three candidates can be found at the Outer Planets Assessment Group.

Launch Date	A-Z	Phase
19971016 October 15, 1997	Cassini The Cassini Mission is in the midst of a detailed study of Saturn, its rings, its magnetosphere, its icy satellites, and its moon Titan. Cassini also delivered a probe...	Operating
19770906 September 05, 1977	Voyager The twin Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft continue exploring where nothing from Earth has flown before. In the 25th year after their 1977 launches, they each are much farther away...	Operating
19891018 October 18, 1989	Galileo The Galileo mission produced a string of discoveries about asteroids, a fragmented comet, Jupiter's atmosphere, Jupiter's magnetic environment, and especially about the...	Past
19750820 August 20, 1975	Viking 1 - 2 Two Viking spacecraft, each composed of an orbiter and a lander, flew to Mars in the mid 1970's. They measured atmospheric water vapor, did chemical analysis of the soil, and...	Past

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Outer Planets Flagship