Two scientists are planning to venture into one of the most dangerous environments in the solar system and touch it. NASA thinks the plan is feasible |

Space has fascinated humans for centuries. From the dazzling sun to the surface of the moon and even Saturn’s shimmering rings, we want to see it all up close. Now, two ambitious NASA-backed projects aim to actually reach Saturn’s rings, venturing into what’s known as one of the most dangerous environments in the solar system.Select NASAIn Cassini’s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program, the proposals envision future robotic explorers that could not only sample Saturn’s icy rings for the first time, but also deploy thousands of tiny spacecraft to fly by them, solving mysteries that have baffled scientists since the Cassini mission ended in 2017.

first project

The first concept is called PRAXIS or Planetary Ring Autonomous Exploration and In Situ Sampling. It proposes the first-ever “touch and go” mission to Saturn’s rings. The project will be led by Dr. B. Marco Quadrelli, group leader and group supervisor at JPL’s Robotics Modeling and Simulation Group.Although Cassini revolutionized our understanding of the gas giant, scientists still don’t know how the rings formed, how old they are, or how the countless ice grains continue to collide, merge, and break apart. These particles range from microscopic particles to house-sized chunks and are primarily made of water ice mixed with rock material. Although Cassini photographed them up close, it never directly sampled ring particles.PRAXIS wants to change that. Instead of flying directly into the planet’s dense rings, the spacecraft will hover safely above the rings and then extend a long, flexible boom inspired by the precision of the sport of fishing. Guided by artificial intelligence, the boom briefly touches the surface of the moving ring particles, collects material and retracts before the spacecraft departs.The mission will then repeat this process at multiple locations, including gaps and dense ring regions, allowing scientists to compare samples from Saturn’s vast ring system.Onboard instruments will immediately analyze the material, measuring grain size, porosity, composition and internal structure, key clues to understanding whether Saturn’s rings are remnants of broken moons, leftover building blocks from the planet’s formation process or something entirely different.

second project

The second proposal selected by NIAC took a more advanced approach. The concept, led by Northwestern University’s Michael Rubenstein, envisions deploying about 10,000 actively controllable satellites – tiny spacecraft each just a few centimeters in diameter – flying directly through Saturn’s rings, atmosphere and magnetic field.Unlike flagship spacecraft such as Cassini, which must avoid dense annulus areas to reduce the risk of collisions, satellite swarms face this danger. Even if thousands of tiny spacecraft are destroyed by high-speed impacts, the mission can still succeed because the remaining probes will continue to collect data. Together they will create an unprecedented three-dimensional map of Saturn’s ring composition, atmospheric density and magnetic environment.This distributed approach also provides significant engineering advantages. Rather than risking a single multi-billion-dollar spacecraft, scientists can spread the risk across thousands of inexpensive explorers, greatly increasing their chances of obtaining measurements from environments previously thought inaccessible.While both missions are still in the early concept stages, NASA’s support underscores their credibility, as well as the agency’s growing interest in returning to Saturn after Cassini. If either proposal comes to fruition, humans will set another record by touching the rings of Saturn.