A team of 19 AAE students recently completed a conceptual spacecraft design for a next generation mission to the outer planets. The group presented its results to an audience of experts from NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The study was part of an intensive two-week engineering exercise lead by AAE Visiting Assistant Professor Sarag Saikia as part of his Maymester AAE 590 class.

During the class, students investigated different ways of exploring the planet Uranus using a spacecraft launched sometime during the late 2020s or early 2030s. The analysis covered many aspects of space vehicle design including trajectories, atmospheric entry, onboard subsystems, and cost. The students settled on a single design that could reach Uranus in a little more than 11 years and achieve a variety of science objectives, while satisfying a cost limit of $2 billion. The team named the design “Oceanus” in honor of the eldest son of Gaia (Earth) and Ouranos (Uranus) in Greek mythology.

But why Uranus?

“Uranus is a real ‘odd-ball’ in the Solar System,” says Justin Mansell, the team’s principal investigator and AAE masters student. “There are a lot of mysteries about the planet but yet it hasn’t been explored by spacecraft in over 30 years.”

Uranus isn’t the only stop for Oceanus. The concept spacecraft also passes Saturn along the way and deploys an entry probe to study the planet’s atmosphere, something that has so far proved difficult to measure from orbit.

“A mission where we are able to collect science data from two planets for about the price of one sounds very appealing to experts,” says Nithin Kolencherry, the project manager and AAE PhD student.

Members from the team continue to talk with interested experts, including presenting their work at the 13th International Planetary Probe Workshop in Baltimore, MD on June 15th.

“Right now NASA is just trying to get an idea of what a mission to Uranus should look like. Given that we only had two weeks, I think a lot of important people were seriously impressed with our work,” said Pablo Podesta, who worked as the project’s lead systems engineer.

“You also won’t find many other schools that have the capability to do a concept study like this,” added Justin Mansell. “The whole class has been an incredible learning opportunity and everyone on the team was a privilege to work with.”