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Is NASA going to Triton?
Trident is a space mission concept to the outer planets proposed in 2019 to NASA’s Discovery Program. The concept includes flybys of Jupiter and Neptune with a focus on Neptune’s largest moon Triton….Trident (spacecraft)
| Start of mission | |
|---|---|
| Flyby of Neptune, Triton | |
| Closest approach | 28 June 2038 |
| Discovery Program |
Why is Triton such an unusual satellite?
It is unusual because it is the only large moon in our solar system that orbits in the opposite direction of its planet’s rotation―a retrograde orbit. Like our own moon, Triton is locked in synchronous rotation with Neptune―one side faces the planet at all times.
What would happen if humans tried to land on Venus?
You would not survive a visit to the surface of the planet – you couldn’t breathe the air, you would be crushed by the enormous weight of the atmosphere, and you would burn up in surface temperatures high enough to melt lead.
Why don’t we go to Jupiter?
The planet is mostly swirling gases and liquids. While a spacecraft would have nowhere to land on Jupiter, it wouldn’t be able to fly through unscathed either. The extreme pressures and temperatures deep inside the planet crush, melt, and vaporize spacecraft trying to fly into the planet.
Does Triton have more gravity than Earth?
With an average temperature of minus 391 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 235 Celsius), Triton is the coldest- known object in the solar system. Though, that’s assuming you could get used to walking in Triton’s incredibly low gravity, which is about 8 percent of Earth’s gravity, or half of the moon’s gravity.
Why does Neptune’s moon Triton orbit backwards?
This is caused by the moon’s high albedo. Very little sunlight is absorbed by the surface. Triton’s axis of rotation is tilted 157 degrees with respect to Neptune’s axis. This causes the moon’s polar and equatorial regions to be alternately pointed towards the Sun.
What is the prediction for the future of Triton?
Tidal interactions also cause Triton’s orbit, which is already closer to Neptune than the Moon is to Earth, to gradually decay further; predictions are that 3.6 billion years from now, Triton will pass within Neptune’s Roche limit.