The Role Of Uranus In The Solar System

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Deciding what object(s) in our solar system is, in my opinion, most worthy of future exploration was not a simple choice. However, after much thought, I believe that the planet Uranus is the object in our solar system most worthy of future exploration. Uranus became my selection for two reasons; the first is that the planet has only been visited by human technology once in the form of the space probe Voyager 2, which took place nearly 30 years ago. The second is that Uranus is marked by a few unique properties, such as a rotational axis that is considered to be tipped on its side, a magnetic field that is tilted 60 degrees with respect to its rotational axis, and has an internal structure that is not completely understood. These unique properties …show more content…

Researching the composition of Uranus would help because unlike most planets, an internal heat source has been difficult to find, and a closer look at the composition of the planet could help us understand whether or not a heat source is present. Uranus is also the coldest planet in our solar system and this seems to be due to the lack of a heat source; so studying how the temperatures change during seasons would help us understand what could possibly be heating this planet. Our best option for this research would be sending an orbiter along with probes to Uranus allowing us an extended look at the planet and greater amounts of instruments to carry out our experiments. It would begin by launching the orbiter from Earth towards Uranus, then by using gravity assist trajectories, it would use the gravity of planets it passed to speed its velocity and exit their gravitational field until it approached Uranus, then slowing down its velocity as it approached the planet and allowing its gravity to pull in the orbiter and allow it to orbit Uranus while it collected data to answer questions about how temperatures change with the seasons of Uranus and if any of the composition of the planet is affecting its

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