Spacecraft Exploration of Titan and Enceladus

Details Spacecraft Exploration of Titan and Enceladus Spacecraft Exploration of Titan and Enceladus

Dec 2009

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009agufm.p43d1474m&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2009, abstract #P43D-1474

Physics

[5737] Planetary Sciences: Fluid Planets / Magnetospheres, [6275] Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects / Saturn, [6280] Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects / Saturnian Satellites, [6281] Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects / Titan

Scientific paper

The future exploration of Titan and Enceladus is very important for planetary science. The study titled Titan Saturn System Mission (TSSM) led to an announcement in which ESA and NASA prioritized future OPF missions, stating that TSSM is planned after EJSM (for details see http://www.lpi.usra.edu/opag/). The TSSM concept consists of an Orbiter that would carry two in situ elements: the Titan Montgolfiere hot air balloon and the Titan Lake Lander. This mission could launch in the 2023-2025 timeframe on a trajectory to arrive ~9 years later and begin a 4-year mission in the Saturnian system. At an appropriate time after arrival at Saturn, the montgolfiere would be delivered to Titan to begin its mission of airborne, scientific observations of Titan from an altitude of about 10 km above the surface. The montgolfiere would have a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG) power system whose waste heat would warm the gas in the balloon, providing buoyancy. It would be designed to survive at least 6-12 months in Titan’s atmosphere. With the predicted winds and weather, it should be possible to circumnavigate the globe! Later, on a subsequent fly-by, the TSSM orbiter would send the Lake Lander to Titan. It would descend through the atmosphere making scientific measurements, much like Huygens did, and then land and float on one of Titan’s seas. This would be its oceanographic phase of making a physical and chemical assessment of the sea. The Lake Lander would operate for 8-10 hours until its batteries become depleted. Following the delivery of the in situ elements, the TSSM orbiter would then explore the Saturn system for two years on a tour that includes in situ sampling of Enceladus’ plumes as well as flybys of Titan. After the Saturn tour, the TSSM orbiter would go into orbit around Titan and carry out a global survey phase. Synergistic observations would be carried out by the TSSM orbiter and the in situ elements. The scientific requirements for TSSM were developed by a Joint Science Definition Team (JSDT). In the TSSM study the orbiter was assumed to be NASA’s responsibility while the in situ elements were assumed to be provided by ESA. The engineering and flight operations aspects were developed in a collaborative study by NASA and ESA engineering teams. This work has been conducted at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The European part was conducted in ESA within the Cosmic Vision 1 plan. Copyright 2008 California Institute of Technology. Government sponsorship acknowledged.

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