DeMarco Alvarez-Leonardo, Asher Merrill, Marc Koulouras

Introduction Icarus: The Mission Beyond Icarus is a celestial rocket that will travel closer to the Oort cloud than any other probe. With the information that we collect, we will we be able to more deeply understand our own solar system, galaxy, and universe. Once the testing is complete, the onboard telescope will provide beautiful images of the outer rim of our universe. A Short Biography In Ancient Greek Mythology, Icarus was a boy who escaped from Crete when his father made a pair of wax wings to fly back to Greece. His father warned him not to fly too close to the sea or too close to the sky. But when young Icarus started flying, he found that he was overjoyed with the thrill of being free. He started flying recklessly, flying to near the sun. But when the wax got hot from the heat of the sun, the feathers fell out, and Icarus fell to the sea below, his final resting place.

The Oort Cloud The probe will include some of the latest communication technology, as to not be outdated and unusable in a matter of years. Once we have completed research on the cloud itself, the telescope will be used for many generations to come. To provide the deepest and most clear images of space. The Oort Cloud is a giant field of comets, asteroids and hydrogen gas. The Oort cloud spans 3*10¹², or 3,000,000,000,000 miles across.

Questions I. What previous research has been done on the Oort Cloud? Really there has been none. The Oort cloud is very hard to view through telescopes, thus making it very hard to see. It’s like looking at charcoal on a black background. II. Since we are going so far from the sun, solar would be ineffective. Is there another way that would be more effective? Nuclear energy is practically your only option to power this craft. It is very reliable and effective, and lasts a very long time. III. What type of sustainable propulsion would this spacecraft require? Actually you could use a normal fuel like the shuttles. You can very easily accelerate the craft by ‘Sling Shoting’ planets. Dr. Harri Vanhala is a scientist for NASA. He likes to talk to classes and educate about space, so that the field grows.

Credits  Mission Director: DeMarco Alvarez-Leonardo  Mission Coordinator: Asher Merrill  Top Researcher: Marc Koulouras Many people have participated in the design of this mission. Their names have not been listed do to current proposals.