If you've opened a fortune cookie, you've probably read an aphorism, like this one, 'The world may be your oyster, but that doesn't mean you'll get its pearl.' In just a few words this quote tells the reader a lesson about life, that you have nearly limitless possibilities, but not all of them lead to a great reward.
The exploration of Neptune has only begun with one spacecraft, Voyager 2 in 1989. Currently there are no approved future missions to visit the Neptunian system. NASA, ESA and also independent academic groups have proposed future scientific missions to visit Neptune.
John Herschel almost discovered Neptune the same way his father, William Herschel, had discovered Uranus in 1781, by chance observation. In an 1846 letter to Wilhelm Struve, John Herschel states that he observed Neptune during a sweep of the sky on July 14, 1830.