FEATURES Exploration Road Map
Milestones or speed bumps? NASA's route through the solar system starts with the space station and space shuttle. After the space agency finishes using the shuttle to build the station, it will stop shuttle flights and free up exploration funding. That will clear the way for the first piloted flight of a versatile new crew vehicle in 2014.
LEGEND
R Planned robotic mission
H Planned human mission
R* Potential robotic mission
H* Potential human mission
Moon
Targets: Exploration test bed, resources, solar system history.2000
R ×2>Orbiting probe 2008
>Robotic landing 2009
2010
R*×10H ×1
H*×4
> Up to one robotic test bed a year
> Humans land 2015 or later
> Up to four more human landings
2020
R*H*
Extended robotic and human operations
Mars
Targets: Past and present water and life; exploration test bed and resources2000
R ×5> Two rovers arrived 2004
> Orbiting probe 2005
> Robotic lander 2007
> Mobile scientific lab 2009
2010
R ×2R*×6
>Test bed and scout 2011, 2016
>Test bed and sample return 2014
>Test bed and field lab 2018
2020
R*×4H*
>Scout 2020
>Humans land after 2022
>Robotic missions 2023, 2025, 2027
OUTER MOONS
Targets: Underground oceans, biological chemistry, life2000
R ×2>Cassini orbiter arrives at Saturn July 2004, releases probe to land on moon Titan December 2004
2010
R ×1> Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (Project Prometheus nuclear power/propulsion demo) 2015
2020
R ×1> Extended operations with Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter to 2025
EXTRASOLAR PLANETS
2000
Targets: Earth-like planets, lifeR ×3
> Spitzer Space Telescope (launched 2003)
> Kepler Mission 2007
> Space Interferometry Mission 2009
2010
R ×3> Webb Telescope 2011
> Terrestrial Planet Finder 2015
> Operations with Space Interferometry Mission through 2014
2020
R*×2H*×3
> Life Finder probe 2023
> Planet Imager probe 2025
> Telescope deployment, upgrades by humans in deep space 2023, 2025, 2027
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