A lot of people comment on the amount of time it has taken us to get back to manned moon missions but in truth humanity (USA, ESA, JAXA, China, Russia) has been back to the moon many many times, we are finding out more about it all the time and may even have a private company go there soon. On the other hand, the greatest probe of all time Voyager 2 travelled to Uranus and Neptune once on a flyby and remains the only probe to have done so, thus far. How long will it be before the news reports report the "first encounter with either Uranus or Neptune since the twentieth century probe Voyager 2 visited it".

I think we could be talking of seventy year gap, ie 2058.

Rumour control had it that there was a Galileo/Cassini type mission being discussed for Neptune. Not sure why Uranus wasn't given consideration.

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I don't see any reason why not. If the probe is powered like New Horizons, the trip would not be horribly long, only between 5-8 years.
I think an important factor may be the hapless NASA PR official who has to announce "A mission to Uranus". ;-)

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Here is a long discussion on this topic:

http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/i...showtopic=1657

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Fiction has to be plausible. Reality is under no such constraint.

If you went that fast, forget about slowing down to orbit. If it is truely a Cassini-like mission, it will take much, much longer to get there, but will have a mission at the target lasting several years. IIRC, Cassini took at least 5 years to get to Saturn, and Saturn is much closer in than Neptune.

Yes, that's plausible.
It is possible that the technology that may get developed for the manned Mars mission will enable cheaper, faster transit to Neptune. If so, it might be earlier, but I wouldn't bet on a launch for a Cassini-like mission to Neptune before 2030.

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Forming opinions as we speak

Solution:

Do it properly & Send 2 missions for each of Uranus and Neptune.

Take each planet in turn, so concentrate on one first (Uranus or Neptune), doesn't matter which order you launch the vehicles - the flyby and the Cassini-like orbiter - you just have to make sure the flyby mission gets there first and with enough time to spare that you can then get the orbiter to look more deeply at all the interesting thing the flyby mission has discovered.


Added bonuses:

If for some reason one of the missions has problems and somehow gets "lost in space" which of course we all know happened previously with a rather infamous Mars mission - at least you have a back-up probe that is still on the way or has just visited - ie, the best example of this is the 2 Voyager Probes (Still my favourite Space Mission). They were the best and they provide the basis of the best model going around - you need at least 2 space probes.

Also, assuming both missions do make the journey intact - you have 2 launches to hype up about all the exciting things you're doing to advance humanity in space and get the kids interested - and of course much better, you have the flyby mission going there first and provoking a huge amount of interest with all the great photos that will very much whet the appetite of all Space-nuts - and many others besides, about the more comprehensive mission that is already enroute and will soon arrive to "live" in the Uranian/Neptunian system very soon to continue this great exploration.

The 1-2 punch if you will. Of course, it doesn't compare to what's been happening with Mars over the last few years, the 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 etc. and more punches - so many that Mars is a bit passe to me - at least until we have a serious prospect of sending a manned mission there, but a 1-2 mission to Neptune would create huge interest - at least once the flyby mission actually got there.

If its too expensive - get other nations involved. It may dilute the process somewhat (exhibit 1a - ISS), but with a travelling space probe you can probably get significant funding from some nations giving them some sort of prominence at least in a public-relations type sense (and it makes good pr for you too to be seen to be involving other nations in your venture.)

Honestly, I can see progress on this being made - at least for one of Uranus or Neptune, during the next decade - which puts possible arrival times in at the earliest probably 2030s - and probably more likely Neptune than Uranus, Neptune seems to be (behind Mars) the current most exciting planet given its location and relationship with the various objects of the Kuiper Belt.

I guess I'm kinda thinking that when New Horizons reaches the Kuiper Belt in 2015, and in the years leading up to that, excitement about the Kuiper Belt - and by extension Neptune, will start to build, and there might be a bit of pressure there to really learn more about this mysterious planet that we haven't visited in nearly 30 years! (by 2015)

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"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third, it is accepted as self-evident." Arthur Schopenhauer - renowned 19th Century German philosopher.

Which would be followed by: "Mission to Uranus to wipe out Klingons".


Long as he pronounces it correctly, I think people can stop from cracking up at the press conferences: YOOR-an-us, is it not?

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And these atomic bombs that science burst upon the world that night were strange even to the men that used them.
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I'd just be happy with a NH-style flyby of each, with modern instruments optimized for outer solar system study--with, of course, the added benefit of KBO studies afterward.

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I meant that even if he pronounces it correctly, the reporters will all ask:
"Isn't that pronounced..."

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I want to go back to the moon.
I don't care which rocket you use, whichever one you pick, I'll like it, I swear.
"If you think the LHC will create black holes, you might as well believe Hobbits are at the bottom of your garden."- Dr. Mike Inglis
Rovers forever! - ToSeek