September 1, 2009
1 min read
Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm5 Future Robotic Expeditions and What They Could Reveal [Slide Show]
Some are already on their way and some are still in the works, but here is what we may see from unmanned exploration of space in the coming years
By John Matson
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Fifty years ago this month, the Soviet Union scored a coup in the space race with a probe called Luna 2. The spacecraft, which resembled a squat, souped-up version of its cousin Sputnik, was launched on September 12, 1959, and two days later reached the lunar surface. By impacting the moon, Luna 2 became the first man-made object to land on a celestial body other than Earth.
Just under 10 years later, of course, humans would follow Luna 2 to the surface of the moon. But nowadays, as in 1959, the most distant journeys are carried out by unmanned probes.
Here is a look at five robotic space missions that could extend our understanding of the solar system in the coming years.
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