A logarithmic view of our Solar System, extending out all the way to the next-nearest stars, shows the extent of the asteroid belt Kuiper belt, and Oort cloud. While stars passing through the Oort cloud may be common, and were particularly common in the young days of the Solar System, it is unknown whether any of the objects we’ve discovered so far originate from beyond the Kuiper belt. (NASA)

Is Humanity Ignoring Our First Chance For A Mission To An Oort Cloud Object?

Sedna could be the very first known object from the Inner Oort Cloud. But time is running out to create and launch a mission.

In 2003, scientists discovered an object beyond Neptune that was unlike any other: Sedna. While there were larger dwarf planets beyond Neptune, and comets that would travel farther from the Sun, Sedna was unique for how far it always remained from the Sun. It always remained more than twice as distant from the Sun as Neptune was, and would achieve a maximum distance nearly 1,000 times as far as the Earth-Sun distance. And despite all that, it’s extremely large: perhaps 1,000 kilometers in diameter. It’s the first object we’ve ever found that might have originated from the Oort cloud. And we’ll only get two chances if we want to send a mission there: in 2033 and 2046. Right now, there isn’t even a proposed NASA mission looking at the possibility. If we do nothing, the opportunity will simply pass us by.

The observed object, Sedna, which was the first completely detached object ever discovered. Sedna never approaches within 75 A.U. of the Sun, pointing towards a possible Oort cloud origin. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (SSC-Caltech))

As we journey farther away from the Sun, out past the rocky planets, asteroid belt, and the gas giants, the Solar…