USRA's Louise Prockter featured in an article in The New York Times

Columbia, MD. April 5, 2019. Universities Space Research Association (USRA)’s Program Director Louise Prockter, Director of LPI, was interviewed and quoted in the March 19, 2019 issue of The New York Times print edition in an article entitled “Journey to Distant World but on a Budget” by David Brown.

Dr. Louise Prockter, Director, LPI

The article focuses on the Discovery mission proposal that Louise is leading. Scientists representing NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory proposed a spacecraft and mission, at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Texas last month, that would explore Triton, Neptune’s largest moon. 

The mission, if approved, would be part of NASA’s Discovery Program, which supports lower-cost missions for under $500 million.

According to the Times, Triton is thought to harbor an ocean, hinting at the possibility that a world quite distant from the sun may contain the ingredients for life.

The flyby, similar to the New Horizons one, is expected to occur in 2038. The proposal is outlined in two papers, available here and here.

To read the full Times article, please click on this link: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/19/science/triton-neptune-nasa-trident.html