3 ms·

But is Uranus or Neptune in a position that can be reached with gravity assists? And even if it is, orbital insertion requires a lot of energy, so a flyby is p

• krylon 10y ago
  Mmmh. I can still hope, can't I? I mean, really, assuming that all of the practical problems of building a probe and getting it to Uranus or Neptune were solved, wouldn't you just love to send it there and explore the $expletive out of them?
  • exDM69 10y ago
    Well you can either keep up (false?) hopes or do the maths and see where the planets are located (pretty easy) and are there any potential gravity assists (not as easy, but there are software packages that help). If you just want to eyeball the situation, take a look at Celestia. I think orbital insertion is out of question for the outer planets using conventional space craft propulsion because the difference between high radial velocity required to reach the planet and the low tangential velocity of the planet itself is greater than the spacecraft's delta-v budget. But there won't be another Voyager mission in our lifetimes, a suitable arrangement of planets happens only once in 400 years or so.
  • simonh 10y ago
    "The most favorable launch window for such a probe would be in August 2018, with arrival at Uranus in September 2030". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploration_of_Uranus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploration_of_Uranus