( Also See # 1921 for year 2016 in Particle Physics )
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----------------------------- 1920 - Space Missions in 2017
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- While Donald Trump was being inaugurated he introduces a transitional year in government, 2017. The same thing is true in space exploration, 2017 is a transitional year. The New Horizon flyby of Pluto was in 2015. The first ever landing on an asteroid is to occur in 2018.
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- The new President is cutting budgets to get our nation back to financial sanity. We will anticipate what is left of the over 100 launches scheduled in 2017. Almost all of these will orbit Earth as communication satellites, or scientific instruments studying our planet.
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- Other nations have bigger budgets for space. China is sending a mission to the Moon, to collect 5 pounds of Moon soil and rocks, returning them to Earth so samples can be studied. China plans to have “ taikonauts” exploring the Moon by 2030.
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- For another crew of real people there are 2 US missions planning maiden flights: SpaceX Dragon 2 and Boeings Starliner both scheduled for 2018. These missions are designed to replace the Space Shuttle in reaching the International Space Station.
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- Cassini space probe of Saturn will end its mission burning up in the Saturn atmosphere on September 15, 2017. Cassini has been studying Saturn and its moons since 2004.
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- New Horizon spacecraft is half way between Pluto and the Kuiper Belt objects. We are hoping there is some more exploration left out there.
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- There is still a Juno spacecraft orbiting Jupiter.
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- There is the Dawn spacecraft orbiting the asteroid, now called dwarf planet Ceres.
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- There is the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and the ExoMars orbiter studying that planet. The Opportunity and Curiosity rovers are on the surface of Mars still doing their thing.
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- “Lucy” is planned for 2021 to visit the Belt asteroids and the Trojan asteroids sharing the orbit with Jupiter.
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- “Pshche” is an asteroid mission to launch in 2023 and visit a 130 mile wide iron and nickel asteroid in 2030. Astronomers believe this asteroid is the left over core of a planetesimal from our early Solar System formation. This mission is scheduled to last for 20 month duration.
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- These several asteroid missions are designed to help us learn how the Solar System came to be.
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- Here at home the Event Horizon Telescope that internet connects several radio telescopes around the world to photograph the shadow of the Blackhole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy.
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- August 21, 2017 the Moon will provide a total eclipse of the Sun on a 70 mile wide path across the US.
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- Note (1): See Review # 1921 to learn what happened in Particle Physics in 2016.
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