NASA -- The agency is launching its newest venture into space. This time, they are looking at a solar exploration where they are to send space rovers in many parts of the solar system to collect data. Particularly, they will be sending spacecraft to the moon, Saturn and the red planet.
NASA has selected eight various groups of researchers to help them carry out the mission. The Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) will look into the basic information that may be gathered through extensive research to hopefully find answers for most of the scientific questions to better understand the space the Earth belongs in as well as the possibility of life to survive on other planets.
The study comes with a $10.5 million budget per year within the lock-in period of five years. The groups that have been chosen to take part in the mission have been divided into 8 teams and they will be evenly distributed to join the exiting teams that study the Moon, Near-Earth asteroids and the moons in Mars namely Phobos and Deimos.
The teams will not only be working side by side with each other but the study has also earned itself international partners and the interest of the local community leaders. They are looking to present this in pubic via virtual technology.
Some of the teams included are as follows:
The Center for Lunar and Asteroid Surface Science (CLASS) will look into the soil-like material that is found on the surface of the moon.
Interdisciplinary Consortium for Evaluating Volatile Origins (ICE FIVE-O) will be in charge of the weather in space.
Resource Exploration and Science OUR Cosmic Environment (RESOURCE) will look into the availability and quantity of resources on the moon and test the available resources that could be used there.
Remote, In Situ, and Synchrotron Studies for Science and Exploration 2 (RISE2) will be focused on the environment of the other planets and the possibility of human life to survive in their given conditions.
Institute for Modeling Plasmas, Atmospheres and Cosmic Dust (IMPACT) will be measuring the micron-sized dust and how it impacts the surface of the moon.
"The discoveries the teams will be making will remain vital in the future explorations about the space not only for human benefit but for everyone on Earth," said Lori Glaze, director of the Planetary Science Division of NASA.
