New Mars Forums

The Captain

Banned

Registered: 2006-11-15

Posts: 5

Re: What would be the best way to explore Titan?

Hello, new poster here. Huygens showed us a lot about Titan, but I think that different approaches could reveal more about this fascinating moon. Obviously, the best way to explore Titan would be with astronauts  , but lets focus on what could be accomplished soon. I think that a rover like Spirit and Opportunity would be the best approach. It would probably have to be nuclear powered, and the design would have to be adapted to Titan.

Your opinions?

C M Edwards

Member

From: Lake Charles LA USA

Registered: 2002-04-29

Posts: 1,012

Re: What would be the best way to explore Titan?

Titan's atmosphere is more dense than Earth's, and its gravity is less.  Balloons will be so much more efficient in Titan's atmosphere that they should be considered.

Helium balloons would, of course, be nice, but Titan surface conditions are so much more favorable to lighter than air craft that in situ methane or hot air would be perfectly adequate for buoyancy.

Send in the balloons!

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"We go big, or we don't go."  - GCNRevenger

cIclops

Member

Registered: 2005-06-16

Posts: 3,230

Re: What would be the best way to explore Titan?

Hi Captain and a cold Titanian welcome to NewMars!

Titan exploration is happening right now, with every orbit the Cassini spacecraft passes close to Titan and uses its sensors to get as much information as possible. The thick atmosphere makes imaging the surface difficult but Cassini is also using a radar to make surface maps. Yes the recent Huygen's probe showed us some fantastic details of the hills and valleys.

Rovers are superb for getting real close and "hands on" but they can only see a tiny part of a world as big as Titan, so it's important to know where to send them. Cassini will help but an orbiter or aerial platform may be necessary first to to find the best places. Getting to Titan is very hard and very expensive, there is also lot of competition from other interesting moons that are much closer such as Europa and Io.

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Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: What would be the best way to explore Titan?

The Most Interesting Moons in Our Solar System

https://gizmodo.com/astronomy-moons-sol … 1849041741

Titan is Saturn’s largest moon, and the second-largest in the solar system after Jupiter’s Ganymede. But Titan is most interesting for its dense atmosphere and massive oceans of methane. NASA has plans to launch a spacecraft there in about five years.

We already have an image from Titan’s surface, taken by the Huygens probe which arrived on the moon in 2005. It gave us a tantalizing enough glimpse to want to return.

Article also mention our Moon, Europa, Io, Charon, Nereid, Pan & Atlas, Phobos & Deimos
Dactyl a satellite of the asteroid Ida

Dragonfly is a planned spacecraft and NASA mission, which will send a robotic rotorcraft to the surface of Titan, the largest moon of Saturn. It would be the first aircraft on Titan and is intended to make the first powered and fully controlled atmospheric flight on any moon, with the intention of studying prebiotic chemistry and extraterrestrial habitability. It will then use its vertical takeoffs and landings (VTOL) capability to move between exploration sites.
PDF
https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2 … r/1958.pdf

Can JWST 'explore' Titan?

https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/ … ence-debut

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2022-07-04 12:16:33)

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: What would be the best way to explore Titan?

The Spectrophotometric Properties of Icy Worlds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLBLMM8VReE

Dragonfly LPI with mission plan.

https://sweetsolsystem.blogspot.com/202 … -were.html

2005 Balloon idea

Montgolfiere balloon missions from Mars and Titan
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20060043467
Montgolfieres, which are balloons that are filled with heated ambient atmospheric gas, appear promising for the exploration of Mars as well as of Saturn's moon, Titan. On Earth, Montgolfieres are also known as 'hot air balloons'. Commercial versions are typically heated by burning propane, although a number of radiant and solar-heated Montgolfieres have been flown on earth by CNES.

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2023-11-28 07:22:40)

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: What would be the best way to explore Titan?

half scale model of NASA Dragonfly mission to Titan

https://twitter.com/radjanirad/status/1 … 9079941409

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: What would be the best way to explore Titan?

Titan Dragonfly is Go!…. for Phase C

https://www.universetoday.com/164532/ti … r-phase-c/

The surface exploration of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, just got one step closer to reality as NASA’s much-anticipated Dragonfly mission recently received approval from the powers that be to advance to Phase C, which is designated as Final Design and Fabrication, according to NASA’s Systems Engineering Handbook. This comes after the Dragonfly team successfully completed all the requirements for Phase B in March 2023, also known as the Preliminary Design Review or Preliminary Design and Technology Completion in the NASA Systems Engineering Handbook

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: What would be the best way to explore Titan?

2019 vid

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn3-0a19sC8

it will fly 100 miles (161 km)

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: What would be the best way to explore Titan?

NASA's Dragonfly Mission to Titan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJuWuJBbc1s

Some have discussed human colonies one day in the far future on Titan, I wonder if Air-launch-to-orbit would work better on Titan an ALTO system like Pegasus XL or Virgin  or Burt Rutan's Scaled Composite designs.

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: What would be the best way to explore Titan?

NASA’s Dragonfly Rotorcraft Mission to Saturn’s Moon Titan Confirmed
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/drago … confirmed/

The rotorcraft, targeted to arrive at Titan in 2034, will fly to dozens of promising locations on the moon, looking for prebiotic chemical processes common on both Titan and the early Earth before life developed. Dragonfly marks the first time NASA will fly a vehicle for science on another planetary body. The rotorcraft has eight rotors and flies like a large drone.