NASA Set to Unveil 'Jupiter Tour' Mission

SpaceRef.com ^ | Wednesday, January 29, 2003 | Keith Cowing

[anymouse]

When NASA rolls out its FY 2004 budget on Monday a large new planetary exploration mission will be revealed. The Bush Adminstration has signed off on a multi-billion-dollar-class mission dubbed "Jupiter Tour' - a mission which embodies a radical departure from the past four decades of planetary exploration.

Jupiter Tour would utilize a sophisticated spacecraft capable of multiple jumps from an orbit around one jovian moon to an orbit around another. Such a capability will allow close, detailed, and long-term studies to be made of many of the members of Jupiter's retinue of 40 (or more) moons.

The mission is slated for the 2009/2010 time frame and is expected to last more than a decade. Jupiter Tour will use an advanced nuclear-powered propulsion system developed under the umbrella of the newly-focused "Prometheus" program.

The cost of the program is projected to be at least $3 billion through Fiscal Year 2008.

[anymouse]

So this is how Lance Bass is planning to get into space. :)

[anymouse]

Space ping.

[bonesmccoy]

Engage!

[Tokhtamish]

Make it so.

[vannrox]

Yay!

I see that the new President is going back to the plans of what his father had about space exploration. Nuclear, and increased capability. If you remember how Clinton totally changed NASA after the election...with all those ulra cheap and unmanned technologies... well, how far did our space technology really advance under Clinton.
REALLY advance under Clinton?

Another big YAY for President Bush!

[steve-b]

So that's how Saddam is going into exile....

[anymouse]

Well we did promise him a one-way ticket to a 'safe' place. Can't get much farther from the people that hate him than Jupiter. :)

He'll get a greater appriciation for living under a oppressive regimen (double diget increase in gravitational force) and heavy chemical and radiation fall out. Heck if he is lucky he might even get to play with some new biological hazards.

And he won't have to worry about sleeping in the same place twice, while cruising around at several million miles an hour.

[ibtheman]

What a waste of money! I do not understand how our government can spend money, they never seem to have enough of our hard earned money!What a rip off!

[jaz.357]

EXCELSIOR!

[jaz.357]

...and the CIA wants to tour URANUS!