NASA is planning an expedition to Uranus and Neptune

Photograph of Triton, satellite of Neptune. When you click the picture will open in full size.

It's been 26 years since Voyager 2 flew past Neptune. Until now, this is the only time when the earth’s spacecraft approached the gas giant. NASA experts have now decided to correct this defect. and send a new spacecraft to Neptune (and / or Uranus), which will study both these planets and their satellites. The key meeting of the project initiators has already taken place, after which it was announced that the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory) will be engaged in planning such an expedition.

If the plans are approved, a spacecraft will be sent to the gas giants. It should not happen now, but after a couple of decades - after the implementation of Mars 2020 and Europa Multiple Flyby Mission. The cost of such a project should be a little less than $ 2 billion. This mission has been declared flagship - on a par with previous missions of Cassini, Galileo, and Voyager.

Not so long ago, NASA considered a similar project, Argo . But it was decided not to sell it, because the agency does not have enough plutonium, which is used to provide some of the spacecraft with energy. At the same time, a good time to launch the device is the interval of 2015-2020 year. It is considered successful because at this time it is possible to disperse the vehicle using the gravitational fields of Jupiter and Saturn, the location of which at this time will be optimal for the mission.
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True, you can do without Jupiter with Saturn, if the new super heavy SLS rocket will be developed on time. In this case, the device can reach Uranus and Neptune much faster than in the case of launching with a conventional booster and further acceleration in Jupiter and Saturn.

Now the US Congress has approved the use of SLS (the carrier is still being developed) for launching the device to Europe. Now NASA has received funds for plutonium, so you can make plans for future missions.

If everything goes well, and NASA receives the money necessary for the project and the approval of plans, the device will also go to Triton, Neptune’s satellite, a very interesting planetoid who may be a former “inhabitant” of the Kuiper belt .

In addition, it is planned to explore the large satellites of Uranus, which are large enough to be considered dwarf planets.