More in

Deep freeze: Technology to explore Jupiter's icy moons

After the success of the 2014 comet landing, engineers are now turning their attention to future missions to the larger moons of Jupiter and the other gas giant planets, which may have watery oceans below a thick crust of ice.

For space scientists and other aficianados, there can be little doubt that 2014 was the year of the comet; the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) achievement in landing the Philae probe on comet 67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko dominated headlines, even though the team still don’t know exactly where the lander is.

By the same token, 2015 is set to be the year of the dwarf planet. Two NASA probes are to greatly expand our knowledge of these enigmatic miniature worlds: the probe Dawn is preparing for its encounter with the largest of the asteroids, Ceres; while in the far distance, New Horizons has emerged from a long hibernation before a close encounter with Pluto. Neither body has been known as anything more than a smudgy image up until now, and solar system specialists are eagerly looking forward to being able to study more detail on these bodies and learn what they can tell us about the formation of our cosmic neighbourhood.

Register now to continue reading

Thanks for visiting The Engineer. You’ve now reached your monthly limit of premium content. Register for free to unlock unlimited access to all of our premium content, as well as the latest technology news, industry opinion and special reports. 

Benefits of registering

  • In-depth insights and coverage of key emerging trends

  • Unrestricted access to special reports throughout the year

  • Daily technology news delivered straight to your inbox