The Outer Planets/Solar Probe Project: "Between an ocean, a rock, and a hot place"

As part of NASA's Origins program, the Outer Planets/Solar Probe Project (formerly known as the Ice and Fire Preprojects) was established in early 1998. This flight project is composed of three challenging and exciting missions which span the far reaches of the solar system. Europa Orbiter, with a planned launch in November of 2003, will travel to Jupiter's moon, Europa, in search of a subsurface liquid water ocean which, if found, could provide a possible environment for the evolution of extraterrestrial life. Pluto-Kuiper Express, with a planned launch in December 2004, will travel to the last planet of the solar system yet to be visited and studied by a robotic spacecraft, and possibly continue on an extended mission to study the remnants from the creation of the solar system found within the Kuiper Belt. Solar Probe, with a planned launch in February 2007, will travel into the heart of the solar system, at three solar radii from the "surface" of the Sun, to study the structure of the corona as well as the source and mechanisms for the creation and acceleration of the Solar Wind. In order to ensure success of each of these missions, under stringent mass, power, and cost constraints, the Outer Planets/Solar Probe Project will rely heavily on several new technologies. Many of these technologies are currently being developed by the Deep Space System Technology Program's First Delivery Project (otherwise known as X2000) and include: low mass, low power, and radiation hard avionics; an avionics packaging scheme which utilizes embedded cabling; a high efficiency, low mass and low power transponder; a mN (milli-Newton) thruster and variable liquid regulator; and a unified flight and ground system software core and architecture. These and other mission-specific technologies will not only enable the Outer Planet/Solar Probe missions, but also provide the foundation upon which technology is to be developed for missions well into the future. This paper summarizes each of the Outer Planet/Solar Probe missions, including the science objectives, mission description, and current spacecraft concepts. The commonalities between these three missions and their reliance on the X2000 project, as well as the mission specific technology developments required for each mission, are also discussed.