Venus, Trojan asteroids shortlisted for next NASA mission

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- NASA's shortlist for the agency's next scientific mission includes five options, but only two destinations -- Venus or asteroids.

NASA says it will ultimately choose one or two of the five missions, with a possible launch as early as 2020. Over the next 12 months, scientists will refine the five investigation concepts.

Three of the five missions are asteroid missions.

One, dubbed Psyche, would see NASA send a probe alongside the metallic asteroid Psyche, which researchers believe is the core of a protoplanet, long ago stripped of its rocky outer layers by a violent collision.

Another calls for the exploration of the Jupiter Trojan asteroids -- a group of asteroids sharing Jupiter's orbital path. Scientists think they may offer insights into the evolution of the solar system.

The third calls for a broad asteroid-cataloguing effort. Backers of the mission say their planned Near Earth Object Camera would find and begin to characterize "10 times more near-Earth objects than all NEOs discovered to date."

The final two missions have their sights set on Venus. The first would focus on mapping the planet's evolving topography while the second would analyze its dynamic atmosphere.

"The selected investigations have the potential to reveal much about the formation of our solar system and its dynamic processes," John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, said in a press release. "Dynamic and exciting missions like these hold promise to unravel the mysteries of our solar system and inspire future generations of explorers. It's an incredible time for science, and NASA is leading the way."