[Maceman]

OK. Pluto. Been there done that now.

What’s next?

[jmacusa]

“Whats next?’’. Colonies on the Moon with hot babes in shiny lamay suits, mini skirts and purple hair!

[Terry L Smith]

“OK. Pluto. Been there done that now.

What’s next?”

We have Pioneer 10, Voyager 1 and 2, and now New Horizons - after it finishes anything Pluto system, next year, all on thier individual trajectories outbound, through the ‘bubble’ at the end of the Sun’s influence of our solar system, into pure interstellar space, and all are still operating, sensing, and sending info back.

We still have a probe getting to Ceres, to explore and analyze as New horizons is doing now.

We are in the process of putting together the Orion manned spacecraft, with Mars as the destination, hopefully, in time for me to witness the launch before ‘the game is called’.

The Mars vehicles are still operating, and sending back findings.

Ad Astra!!

[SunkenCiv]

Over the next 40 years? Approx chrono order:

1. Private company launching civilians into space, suborbital flights
2. Private company launching civilians into space, orbital flights
3. Back to the Moon -- may even be private companies sending civilians to weeklong vacations in orbit around the Moon
4. New, all-US orbital station
5. Permanent human colonies on the Moon
6. Probes to assay asteroids (including landings)
7. Human missions to asteroids
8. Human missions to and from Mars orbit
9. Orbital station to Mars
10. Cycler construction (Buzz Aldrin, hope he lives to see it)
11. Human missions to the Martian surface
12. Habitats on Martian surface
13. Permanent human presence on Mars
14. Human mission(s) to the "dark side" (but close to the daylight side) of Mercury