Where next, Columbus

摘要

NASA has been on a roll when it comes to the exploration of the solar system. The Phoenix lander on Mars was of course the highlight of the agency's achievements in 2008, but not the only one. NASA has a number of ongoing missions that are either currently collecting data or streaking towards their targets. In 2007 NASA launched the Dawn asteroid mission, currently scheduled to rendezvous and orbit the asteroid Vesta in 2011 and Ceres in 2015. In 2006 NASA launched the New Horizons mission, which flew past Jupiter like a bat out of hell in early 2007 and will streak past Pluto in 2015, before heading on to another Kuiper Belt object. The Messenger spacecraft flew past Mercury in 2008 and will orbit that planet in 2011. Cassini continues to orbit Saturn, making increasingly close passes to its most interesting moons, Titan and Enceladus. And, of course, NASA has an active Mars exploration programme, with both the Mars Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter circling the red planet.