Interstellar Probe (spacecraft)

Interstellar Probe (ISP) is a proposed NASA space probe made to explore the heliosphere and interstellar space It would have been launched between 2036 and 2041. The probe would encounter Jupiter after six to seven months, after this the probe would go at a speed of about 6-7 astronomical units, leaving the heliosphere after 16 years.

An artist's view of the Interstellar Probe (ISP)

The probe might encounter minor planets during it's journey, including Orcus and Quaoar, but these encounters would require specific launch dates.

The mission would be made to last for over 50 years, a simmilar thing reached by the Voyager 1 and 2 probes. The mission has been called "Voyager on steroids".

The main things of the Interstellar Probe mission include studing the heliosphere, with potential dwarf planet encounters.

The mission

The launch would be in 2036 using a Space Launch System in it's Block 2 version, featuring an additional booster. This launch would put the probe on a direct trajectory to Jupiter.

There have been more trajectory options, including encounters with Saturn, Uranus, or Neptune and dwarf planets.

Related pages

• New Horizons, a Pluto flyby mission by NASA
• Voyager 1, a space probe launched by NASA to interstellar space