Flying to (Hypothetical) Planet 9: Why visit it, how could we get there, and would it surprise us like Pluto?- by ET_Exists
“It is very likely,” said Dr. Andrew Hein, who is an Associate Professor/Chief Scientist at the University of Luxembourg, and a co-author on the study. “Even the best telescopes are vastly inferior to close-up observations from a probe flying by a celestial body. This is even more true for bodies which are far away and faint, which is the case for Planet 9. The reason is physics.
For how to get to Planet 9, the researchers propose several mission designs. These include, Jupiter gravity assist, using either Jupiter’s or the Sun’s gravity well to accelerate the spacecraft, chemical rockets, nuclear propulsion, and laser sails. With the exception of laser sails, the amount of time each method would need to reach Planet 9 ranged from just under 40 years to 100 years. With laser sails, the researchers estimated that a spacecraft could reach Planet 9 within 6.5-7 years.
For now, Planet 9 remains purely a hypothesized member of our vast and illustrious solar system, but would the vast time it takes to get there using conventional methods prevent us from potentially visiting this mysterious object so far from the Sun? “Although we find that minimum mission times of 40-50 years are required , this long flight time ought not deter us,” said Lingam. “The spacecraft have been functional for roughly the same duration and continue to provide a wealth of data.
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