British Seek to Explore Uranus in 2021

British space scientists are leading plans to send a probe to explore giant ice planet Uranus in 2021. Space scientists have put forward a detailed proposal to the European Space Agency to launch a joint mission with NASA to the distant world, 1.8 billion miles from the sun. The mission is known as the Uranus Pathfinder.

The half-billion dollar mission, designed to go in orbit to study the rings around Uranus and answer questions such as why it gives off so little heat, is backed by 160 space scientists led by Dr. Chris Arridge, of University College London’s Mullard Space Science Laboratory in Surrey, reports Skymania News. [7.5-min Uranus vid]