Coming Attractions

Unmanned Missions

Because a ship that would sustain life for several months or years has not been created yet, even the nearest planet, Mars, is still out of reach. So scientists today are working on probes which do not have to carry supplies or men, just fuel and a computer. An example of these immortal astronauts is Genesis, which will be launched in July of this year. It will gather atomic particles from our sun for three years until returning to earth with this data. Scientists will try to see if the sun and the planets are made of the same materials, which will help them figure out the beginning of the solar system. Another probe to be launched in July 2003 will actually be three separate hat box size spacecraft which will act and emit a signal of one large ship. The Cassini probe was launched in 1997 and is expected to reach Saturn in 2004 to study the planet and many of its moons.

The Cassini probe
A picture of the Genesis probe