i found this very intriguing and i was very surprised at how much of space we have actually explored, I feel that i will develop on this research learning more about the subject.
The sun:
Featured Mission: Solar Dynamics Observatory
SDO will study the sun's influence by observing the solar atmosphere simultaneously in several wavelengths. The orbiting observatory will help determine if it is possible to make reliable space weather forecasts.
SDO will study the sun's influence by observing the solar atmosphere simultaneously in several wavelengths. The orbiting observatory will help determine if it is possible to make reliable space weather forecasts.
Mercury
Goals: MESSENGER was designed to map the surface composition, study the magnetic field and interior structure of our solar system's smallest and innermost planet -- Mercury. It carries eight instruments to study Mercury's polar deposits, core and magnetic dynamo, crust and mantle, magnetosphere, crustal composition, geologic evolution and exosphere.
Accomplishments: On March 18 2011 (UTC), MESSENGER became the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury. During a series of flybys that edged it closer to orbit insertion, the spacecraft revealed more of Mercury than has ever been seen before. Images and data reveal Mercury as a unique, geologically diverse world with a magnetosphere far different than the one first discovered by Mariner 10 in 1975.
MESSENGER solved the decades-old question of whether there are volcanic deposits on the planet's surface. MESSENGER orbital images have revealed volcanic vents measuring up to 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) across that appear to have once been sources for large volumes of very hot lava that, after eruption, carved valleys and created teardrop-shaped ridges in the underlying terrain.
The spacecraft also found Mercury has an unexpectedly complex internal structure. Mercury's core is huge for the planet's size, about 85% of the planetary radius, even larger than previous estimates. The planet is sufficiently small that at one time many scientists thought the interior should have cooled to the point that the core would be solid. However, subtle dynamical motions measured from Earth-based radar combined with parameters of the gravity field, as well as observations of the magnetic field that signify an active core dynamo, indicate that Mercury's core is at least partially liquid.
Venus
Goals: Akatsuki is Japan's first mission to Venus. The spacecraft was designed to orbit Venus following the westward rotation of the atmosphere, mapping the circulation and vertical structure of the planet's thick clouds.
Accomplishments: The spacecraft did not achieve Venus orbit insertion in December 2010 as planned. Mission planners are evaluating the spacecraft and determining the feasibility of trying again when the spacecraft returns to Venus in six years.
Earth:
Goals: Earth science missions are designed to study our home world from above as a whole system and aid in our understanding how the planet is changing.
Accomplishments: Since the launch of Sputnik in 1957, more than a dozen nations have launched hundreds of spacecraft to study our home world from orbit. A half-century of progress in Earth observation from space has steadily changed our perception of Earth. Satellite measurements enabled understanding of the Earth as a system of interconnected parts. It is now clear the characteristics of Earth's atmosphere so critical to life are maintained by complex and tightly coupled circulation dynamics, chemistry and interactions with the oceans, ice and land surface; all of which are driven by solar radiation and gravitational forces.
The Moon
The Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission will create the most accurate gravitational map of the Moon to date, improving our knowledge of near-side gravity by 100 times and of far-side gravity by 1000 times. The high-resolution gravitational field, especially when combined with a comparable-resolution topographical field, will enable scientists to deduce the Moon's interior structure and composition, and to gain insights into its thermal evolution--that is, the history of the Moon's heating and cooling, which opens the door to understanding its origin and development. Accurate knowledge of the gravity will also be an invaluable navigational aid to future lunar spacecraft. Ultimately, the information contributed by the GRAIL mission will increase our knowledge of how Earth and its rocky neighbors in the inner solar system developed into the diverse worlds we see today.
Launched on Sept. 10, 2011, GRAIL is a mission in NASA's Discovery Program of solar system investigations. GRAIL will begin its work at the Moon in 2012. Maria Zuber of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass., is the mission Principal Investigator.
In the course of the mission, GRAIL will conduct two important firsts. This will be the first time any space agency has attempted the complex set of maneuvers required to place two robotic spacecraft into the same precise orbit around a planetary body other than Earth so that they can fly in formation. And it will also provide a unique opportunity for a NASA planetary mission to carry MoonKam--an imager whose photographic targets will be chosen by middle school students under the auspices of Sally Ride Science.
Mars:
Goals: NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission is preparing to set down a large, mobile laboratory - the rover Curiosity - using precision landing technology that makes many of Mars' most intriguing regions viable destinations for the first time.
During the 23 months after landing, Curiosity will analyze dozens of samples drilled from rocks or scooped from the ground as it explores with greater range than any previous Mars rover. Its assignment: Investigate whether conditions have been favorable for microbial life and for preserving clues in the rocks about possible past life.
Accomplishments: Curiosity landed safely on Mars and is preparing for its prime science mission. Its first success was the use of a new sky crane landing procedure to deliver the car-sized rover to the surface in Mars' Gale crater.
Jupiter
Goals: NASA's Juno Mission will study how Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, formed and became the dynamic world we see today. The solar-powered spacecraft will map the gravity field, magnetic field and atmospheric structure of Jupiter from a unique polar orbit. Juno's observations will lead to a better understanding of the formation of our solar system and planetary systems discovered around other stars.
Accomplishments: This mission is en route to its primary science target.
Saturn
Goals: Cassini was designed to explore the Saturnian system from orbit: the planet and its atmosphere, rings and magnetosphere, and its moons, particularly Titan and the icy satellites. Cassini also carried Europe's Huygens probe to its rendezvous with Titan.
Accomplishments: After successfully completing the first in-depth, up-close study of Saturn and its realm from orbit, Cassini is on an extended mission to follow up on the many discoveries made during its primary 4-year mission. Among the most surprising discoveries were geysers erupting on Enceladus and the dynamic effects of it and other moons on Saturn's rings. Cassini's observations of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, have given scientists a glimpse of what our home planet might have been like before life evolved on Earth.
Goals: Voyager 1 and 2 were designed to take advantage of a rare planetary alignment to explore the outer solar system. Voyager 2 targeted Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Like it's sister spacecraft, Voyager 2 also was designed to study the edge of our solar system beyond the planets.
Accomplishments: Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to study all four of the solar system's giant planets at close range. It is now exploring the outermost reaches of where the solar wind and the sun's magnetic field dominate space. In September 2007, it crossed the termination shock (where the speed of the solar wind drops below the speed of sound) at 84 AU (about 13 billion km from the sun, more than twice the distance to Pluto). Since then, Voyager 1 has been operating in the heliosheath environment, a region about 40 to 50 AU (3.7 billion to 4.7 billion km) thick where the solar wind mixes with the interstellar wind.
Goals: Voyager 1 and 2 were designed to take advantage of a rare planetary alignment to explore the outer solar system. Voyager 2 targeted Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Like it's sister spacecraft, Voyager 2 also was designed to study the edge of our solar system beyond the planets.
Accomplishments: Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to study all four of the solar system's giant planets at close range. It is now exploring the outermost reaches of where the solar wind and the sun's magnetic field dominate space. In September 2007, it crossed the termination shock (where the speed of the solar wind drops below the speed of sound) at 84 AU (about 13 billion km from the sun, more than twice the distance to Pluto). Since then, Voyager 1 has been operating in the heliosheath environment, a region about 40 to 50 AU (3.7 billion to 4.7 billion km) thick where the solar wind mixes with the interstellar wind.
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