The Frontier Program

The New Frontier Program
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December 2nd, 2016: Planet Nine first confirmed by direct observation by American astronomer Elsie Russels, near and approaching its Perihelion.

January 6th, 2017: Planet Nine officially named Persephone.

January 7st, 2017: China announces plans to develop infrastructure for landing a manned Spacecraft on the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

January 30th, 2017: President Hilary Clinton announces new plan for scientific exploration of the cosmos. This plan includes:
* International Co-Operation with other science agencies.
* A new program to explore the oceans of our planet, mapping and exploring the depths of the other "half" of the world.
* One Penny to the Tax Dollar for NASA.
* Actually it's closer to 1.4, but Penny For NASA sounds catchier and less alarming to the taxpayer.

February 7th, 2017: SpaceX successfully launches and lands all three Falcon Heavy Rocket Boosters.
* After two failed missions, one of which had the F9H Left booster collapse onto the KSC landing pad. The other failure was on launch.

February 18th, 2017: NASA creates the New Frontier Program:

The New Frontier Program's core is the multipurpose Frontier-Class Robotic Spacecraft. The vessel has a nicely beefy chemical propulsion for the attitude thrusters and fast burns, but the main engine is an Ion engine derived from the Dawn Spacecraft. It contains slots for up to 20 scientific instruments, and space to fit up to four 3U children Cubesats.

The Frontier also has a mounting point for a secondary major payload on the top.

Missions:

The Demeter Mission to Persephone:
* Assembled in Low Earth Orbit, a combination Earth Departure Stage and Demeter Spacecraft+Booster.
* Takes a blazingly fast 10 years to reach Persephone.
* The Demeter Spacecraft, featuring an array of scientific experiments, as well as visible light and IR cameras.
* The Hades Atmosphere Probe falls into Persephone and samples the atmosphere.
* The Hades Aerocapture Orbiter, a small spacecraft which aerocaptures into orbit after the Hades Probe samples the atmosphere.
* The three Cubesats are sent out to fly by moons of Persephone.

The Herschel Mission to Uranus:
* Launched by Space Launch System to a flyby of Jupiter and eventual orbital insertion around Uranus.
* The Herschel Spacecraft Orbiter, studies Uranus and its moons.
* The Herschel Atmosphere Probe samples the atmosphere.
* Cubesat 1 Samples the Rings of Uranus, Cubesat 2 Flies by moons, Cubesat 3 orbits and maps Miranda.

The Galle-LeVerrier Mission to Neptune:
* Launched by SLS to flyby of Jupiter and eventual orbital insertion around Neptune.
* Galle Spacecraft orbiter, studies Neptune and its moons.
* Le Verrier Atmosphere Probe, samples the atmosphere.

The Investigation Rover to Mars (Mars 2020):
* Lands in the Mariner Valleys
* Main rover body based upon Curiosity
* Fastest Wheeled Vehicle on Mars at 0.4 mph speed.

The Titan Mobile Laboratory Rover to Titan:
* Lands near the North Pole, where methane lakes have been found.
* Surveys and samples the oceans.
* Titan Laboratory Orbiter placed in polar orbit to relay telemetry.
* Huge lightspeed delay means that the rover is highly autonomous.

Haumea Flyby Spacecraft:
* Flies by the strange, ellipsoidal dwarf planet Haumea.