From the mystery of methane on Mars to how Jupiter formed and whether there is microbial life on Saturn’s moon Enceladus, there are many questions about our solar system waiting to be answered this year.
For planetary scientists, 2016 is a year of grand finales, anniversaries and planning major new missions. Let’s take a look at some of the most exciting possibilities.
Mars
In July 1976, NASA’s Viking Landers were the first probes to successfully reach the Martian surface. An immensely successful series of Mars landers followed.
NASA’s Curiosity Rover is the latest. In 2016, Curiosity will pick its way through its current position in the Bagnold dunes—a band along the north-western flank of a 5.5 kilometers high mountain inside Gale Crater called Mount Sharp—and continue its drive up the mountain to reach iron-oxide layers (rust is a kind of iron oxide) and a clay-rich horizon—both believed to have formed from the reaction between water and Mars’ crust. We know that lakes filled the Gale Crater around 3.8 billion years ago. Curiosity will photograph, drill and analyze to find out more about Mars’ past warm and wet environment.
Europe is also aiming for Mars. ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter will launch on a Russian rocket in March and get there in October. It will follow up Curiosity’s discovery of traces of methane in Mars’ atmosphere, which could be a result of cosmic dust, geological processes or even past microbial life. ExoMars will test for current geological processes that might be releasing the methane.
It will also drop a simple, small lander to the surface. If it performs as planned then it is likely that a more ambitious ExoMars Rover—a two-meter drill on wheels with science instrumentation designed to test for traces of ancient life—will launch between 2018 and 2020. If ExoMars goes ahead as planned then the 150 million euros or so needed to complete it could lead to postponements of other possible projects such as a mission to return material from Mars’ moon Phobos.
Moon
The moon also has a landmark anniversary: it is 50 years since the first successful robotic landing on its surface by the Soviet Union’s Luna 9. The Russians have always maintained a keen interest in the moon. Meanwhile, ESA has offered European countries a plan to collaborate with RosCosmos, the Russian Space Agency, to start a new lunar exploration program—with an initial focus on sampling the previously unstudied South Pole Aitken region. But budgets are limited. A decision at the European Council of Ministers in November about space priorities will be difficult, with projects targeting the moon, Mars’ moon Phobos and Mars all competing for funds.
Meanwhile, U.S. company Astrobotic Technology hopes to be the first private lunar lander and rover mission in 2016.
Outer Solar System
The Juno NASA spacecraft will reach Jupiter in July. Juno will orbit Jupiter 32 times for a year helping us to answer questions about how the planet formed, how much water exists inside its atmosphere and how its mighty magnetosphere works.
