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.[1] 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 third highest priority Flagship mission, after the Uranus Orbiter and Probe and the Mars Sample Return program.[2]
 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 [1]: 18 |
| Dry mass | 2690 kg |
| Power | (at launch) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | October 2038 (proposed) [1]: 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) |
