Observation and exploration thumb|Miranda, Uranus, and its other moons photographed by the Cerro Paranal Observatory. Miranda's apparent magnitude is +16.6, making it invisible to many amateur telescopes. Virtually all known information regarding its geology and geography was obtained during the flyby of Uranus made by Voyager 2 on 25 January 1986, The closest approach of Voyager 2 to Miranda was —significantly less than the distances to all other Uranian moons. Of all the Uranian satellites, Miranda had the most visible surface. The discovery team had expected Miranda to resemble Mimas, and found themselves at a loss to explain the moon's unique geography in the 24-hour window before releasing the images to the press.Miner, 1990, pp. 309-319 In 2017, as part of its Planetary Science Decadal Survey, NASA evaluated the possibility of an orbiter to return to Uranus some time in the 2020s.Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013–2022 Uranus was the preferred destination over Neptune due to favourable planetary alignments meaning shorter flight times.Revisiting the ice giants: NASA study considers Uranus and Neptune missions. Jason Davis. The Planetary Society. 21 June 2017.
Observation and exploration thumb|Miranda, Uranus, and its other moons photographed by the Cerro Paranal Observatory. Miranda's apparent magnitude is +16.6, making it invisible to many amateur telescopes. Virtually all known information regarding its geology and geography was obtained during the flyby of Uranus made by Voyager 2 on 25 January 1986, The closest approach of Voyager 2 to Miranda was —significantly less than the distances to all other Uranian moons. Of all the Uranian satellites, Miranda had the most visible surface. The discovery team had expected Miranda to resemble Mimas, and found themselves at a loss to explain the moon's unique geography in the 24-hour window before releasing the images to the press.Miner, 1990, pp. 309-319 In 2017, as part of its Planetary Science Decadal Survey, NASA evaluated the possibility of an orbiter to return to Uranus some time in the 2020s.Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013–2022 Uranus was the preferred destination over Neptune due to favourable planetary alignments meaning shorter flight timesRevisiting the ice giants: NASA study considers Uranus and Neptune missions. Jason Davis. The Planetary Society. 21 June 2017.