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Priorities in Space Science Enabled by Nuclear Power and Propulsion (2006) / Chapter Skim
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5 Applications of Nuclear Power and Propulsion in Solar System Exploration: Background
Pages 56-63

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From page 56...
... The results of their efforts are embodied in two volumes, New Frontiers in the Solar System: An Integrated Exploration Strategy (hereafter, the solar system exploration [SSE] decadal survey)
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From page 57...
... bMissions were assigned to the various cost categories according to the best estimates available at the time the SSE decadal survey was drafted. Note that the cost categories used in the SSE decadal survey are not the same as those used in the solar and space physics decadal survey.
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From page 58...
... 58 PRIORITIES IN SPACE SCIENCE ENABLED BY NUCLEAR POWER AND PROPULSION Priorities for medium-cost missions to Mars in the SSE decadal survey were, in priority order, as follows: 1. Mars Science Laboratory.
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From page 59...
... APPLICATIONS OF NUCLEAR POWER AND PROPULSION IN SOLAR SYSTEM EXPLORATION: BACKGROUND 59 Exploration of Titan Cassini's exploration of Saturn and its moons and rings has only just begun. Nevertheless, the successful descent of the Huygens probe through Titan's atmosphere and the bonus of an unexpectedly long period of surface observations have confirmed some longstanding expectations and revealed some intriguing new characteristics of Saturn's largest satellite.9 Images from the Huygens descent imager, for example, showed features highly reminiscent of drainage channels and shorelines.
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From page 60...
... 60 PRIORITIES IN SPACE SCIENCE ENABLED BY NUCLEAR POWER AND PROPULSION solar system's four giant planets.12 In the cases of Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, in situ measurements of helium may yield results of great astrophysical significance. Programmatic Context In the last decade, NASA has dispatched robotic missions to Mars, the jovian and saturnian systems, asteroids, and comets.
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From page 61...
... APPLICATIONS OF NUCLEAR POWER AND PROPULSION IN SOLAR SYSTEM EXPLORATION: BACKGROUND 61 Mars, exploring Titan's methane playas, surviving in the long term on the surface of Venus, or sending long-lived probes into the atmospheres of the outer planets, just to name a few. IMPLEMENTATION AND TECHNIQUES To address their scientific priorities planetary scientists use a combination of in situ, remote-sensing, laboratory, and theoretical studies.
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From page 62...
... REFERENCES 1. National Research Council, New Frontiers in the Solar System: An Integrated Exploration Strategy, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2003.
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From page 63...
... 15. National Research Council, New Frontiers in the Solar System: An Integrated Exploration Strategy, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2003, pp.
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Key Terms

  • exploration strategy
  • integrated exploration
  • space physics
  • research council
  • national research

  • national academies


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