Interstellar Probe - Trans-Neptunian Probes at Precursor Distances

Trans-Neptunian Probes At Precursor Distances

In the early 2000s many new, relatively large planetary bodies were found beyond what was at the time planet Pluto, and with orbits extending hundreds of AU out past the heliosheath (90–1000 AU). The NASA probe New Horizons may explore this area after it performs its planned Pluto flyby in 2015 (Pluto's orbit ranges from about 29–49 AU). Some of these large objects past Pluto include 136199 Eris, 136108 Haumea, 136472 Makemake, and 90377 Sedna. Sedna comes as close as 76 AU, but travels out as far as 961 AU at aphelion, and minor planet (87269) 2000 OO₆₇ goes out past 1060 AU at aphelion. Bodies like these have an impact on how the Solar System is understood, and traverse an area previously only in the domain of interstellar missions or precursors probes. After the discoveries, the area is also in the domain of interplanetary probes; some of the discovered bodies may become targets for exploration missions, an example of which is preliminary work on a probe to Haumea and its moons (at 35–51 AU). Probe mass, power source, and propulsion systems are key technology areas for this type of mission. In addition, a feature of this area is the gravitational lensing point of the Sun at about 550 AU.