The New Horizons probe will wake from hibernation tonight, and we'll be able to get our first look at Pluto, somewhere around 9:30-10:30 Eastern Time. Now, the planet will still be quite a distance away, as the best approach won't be until July 14th, but still, if you want to watch it live, the Planetary Society is broadcasting on youtube (link below), or you can click on NASA's live deep space network and click on the Canberra (43) satellite image, which will show the image of New Horizons in the upper right hand corner. That link is below: http://eyes.nasa.gov/dsn/dsn.html To watch the Planetary Society live commentary, see below: [yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQL_cjI66C8[/yt]
This article from NBC News explains the next steps in the process for New Horizons. Of course, some of the really exciting stuff will start in January: So January 15th will give us a chance to see Pluto as we approach. I love that we'll be able to track its progress as well. We'll finally get to see Pluto with our own eyes, and up close (in July we'll get the closest view). This is something I have wanted to see for a very long time.
Oh, certainly. The only two Mercury missions to date have been Mariner 10 in 1974 and the MESSENGER probe that's been in orbit of Mercury since 2011 and that sent back our first really good maps of the planet. There's a third mission scheduled to launch in 2016. But there have been dozens of Venus probes since 1961: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Solar_System_probes#Venus_probes This includes the Venus Express orbiter that's been in orbit of Venus for over eight years and is still in operation today, though its operations are only funded through the end of this month. There's also a Japanese probe that missed its first orbital entry attempt a few years ago but is en route for a second attempt a couple of years from now. We've sent probes to all eight planets (technically we "probe" Earth from space every day with weather and surveillance satellites) as well as various comets and asteroids, and have even sent out probes to observe the Sun, albeit from a safe distance. But Pluto will be the first Kuiper Belt object we've sent a probe to (discounting any Neptunian moons that originated there) and the second dwarf planet, since Dawn will arrive at Ceres a couple of months before New Horizons reaches Pluto.
I need to pay better attention to this stuff. Anyway, cool that we're flying by Pluto. It would be awesome, though, to get some more Rovers out into space exploring the surfaces of more planets...if only for the pictures!
For what it's worth the Soviets sent plenty of missions to Venus. That's why we know we shouldn't bother because the weather there is worse than British weather.
It makes the British weather look wonderful in comparison. It is hot, and the thick atmosphere is crushing. I forget what has killed any probes sent there first: the extreme heat, or the crushingly thick atmosphere. And to think that we once thought that Venus might be covered in lush jungles! If only that were the case! Venus has got to be one of the most hellish planets that we've discovered.
^I think it was a combination of the pressure, the heat, and the corrosive, acidic atmosphere that did them in.
Hey, Venus is tough. Here is a blurb on the Venus probe--Steve Austin figure not included: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venera_13 http://mentallandscape.com/V_Venus.htm