New Frontiers program

The New Frontiers program is a series of space exploration missions being conducted by NASA with the purpose of furthering the understanding of the Solar System.

This effort was led by two long-time NASA executives at headquarters at that time: Edward Weiler, Associate Administrator of Science, and Colleen Hartman, Solar System Exploration Division Director.

[7] Examples of proposed mission concepts include three broad groups based on Planetary Science Decadal Survey goals.

The Juno spacecraft investigation is intended to address the following objectives for Jupiter: OSIRIS-REx stands for "Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer", and was launched on 8 September 2016.

[15][16] Asteroid Bennu is a potential future Earth impactor and is listed on the Sentry Risk Table with the third highest rating on the Palermo Technical Impact Hazard Scale (circa 2015).

[38] The two finalists, CAESAR and Dragonfly, each received $4 million funding through the end of 2018 to further develop and mature their concepts.

The 2018 Midterm Review of the 2013–2022 Decadal Survey found that NASA was falling behind on this cadence, and recommended the release of the New Frontiers 5 Announcement of Opportunity no later than December 2021.

[41] Thomas Zurbuchen, Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, responded positively to the Midterm Review's recommendation, stating that NASA was "committed to conducting two New Frontiers competitions per decade" and planned to release the Announcement of Opportunity in 2021 or 2022,[42] though the Midterm Review estimated a release date as late as 2023.