Enceladus Orbilander
Artist's impression of the Enceladus Orbilander | |
| Mission type | Enceladus Orbiter and Lander |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA |
| Website | https://space.jhuapl.edu/projects-and-studies/enceladus-orbilander |
| Mission duration |
|
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | APL (proposed) |
| Launch mass | 6610 kg : 18 |
| Dry mass | 2690 kg |
| Power | 741 W (at launch) 589 W (landing) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | October 2038 (proposed) : 33 |
| Rocket | Space Launch System Block 2 (proposed) |
| Launch site | Kennedy Space Center, Pad 39B |
| Contractor | NASA |
| Flyby of Jupiter | |
| Closest approach | October 2040 (proposed) |
| Distance | 4,730,000 km (2,940,000 mi) |
| Saturn orbiter | |
| Orbital insertion | August 2045 (proposed) |
| Orbital departure | early 2050 (proposed) |
| Enceladus orbiter | |
| Orbital insertion | early 2050 (proposed) |
| Orbital departure | mid 2051 (proposed) |
| Enceladus lander | |
| Landing date | mid 2051 (proposed) |
Large Strategic Science Missions Planetary Science Division | |
The Enceladus Orbilander is a proposed NASA Flagship mission to Saturn's moon Enceladus. The Enceladus Orbilander would spend a year and a half orbiting Enceladus and sampling its water plumes, which stretch into space, before landing on the surface for a two-year mission to study materials for evidence of life. The mission, with an estimated cost of $4.9 billion, could launch in the late 2030s on a Space Launch System or Falcon Heavy with a landing in the early 2050s. It was proposed in the 2023–2032 Planetary Science Decadal Survey as the second highest priority Flagship mission, after the Uranus Orbiter and Probe.