"Dragonfly" Titan explorer drone, NASA funds Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) |
"Dragonfly" Titan explorer drone, NASA funds Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) |
Dec 20 2017, 09:04 PM
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 66 Joined: 3-August 12 Member No.: 6454 |
Is there a specific website for this Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) concept for a Titan explorer drone?
Looks to be an RTG powered machine, somewhat reminiscent of MSL Curiosity (RTG sticking out the tail end). But no camera mast, ChemCam, or sampling arm visible in the concept illustration. QUOTE Dec. 20, 2017 RELEASE 17-101 NASA Invests in Concept Development for Missions to Comet, Saturn Moon Titan Dragonfly Dragonfly is a drone-like rotorcraft that would explore the prebiotic chemistry and habitability of dozens of sites on Saturn’s moon Titan, an ocean world in our solar system. Elizabeth Turtle from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, is the lead investigator, with APL providing project management. https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-inv...turn-moon-titan |
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Jun 30 2019, 04:34 AM
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1276 Joined: 25-November 04 Member No.: 114 |
I was a little upset that we may not see any close observations of the lakes but we do know channels are known to be there from Huygens images. Landing and sampling the liquid that carved these features will be a science and visual bonanza.
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Jun 30 2019, 07:50 PM
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2530 Joined: 20-April 05 Member No.: 321 |
Titan has extraordinary diversity of surface units, so the value of the mission will not be in covering a large fraction of the total surface but in taking a path that samples a wide variety of those surface unit types. I don't know what sort of total traverse distance is possible, and we'll all be hoping for an Opportunity-like success beyond the nominal lifespan, but it seems likely that one, nominal ground track could visit many of the major surface unit types, and a fairly long one could visit most of them.
Unfortunately, there is some latitude-based regularity in Titan's geography, so a mission landing at the equator will likely miss what is at the poles, and the converse would also be true. I think we can guess that Titan might have a few unique areas scattered around its surface and of course we can't visit them all, but this one mission to Titan might encounter more diversity of surface units than all our missions to Mars, Venus, and the Moon have, combined. |
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Jun 30 2019, 08:41 PM
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 98 Joined: 30-November 05 From: Antibes, France Member No.: 594 |
Great news!
A major technological and scientific challenge! Potential rainfall events from time to time in the equatorial or tropical area. So why not puddles (if the surface is not too porous or absorbent). Many questions regarding the nature and the physical characteristics of Titan's dunes. Are those dunes related to an ancient ocean or sea of methane or to the repetitive action of rainfall events (erosion, evaporation...) for instance ? What kind of chemistry of course? |
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Jun 30 2019, 09:01 PM
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2530 Joined: 20-April 05 Member No.: 321 |
Most locations in Titan's low latitudes did not receive rainfall during Cassini's mission and a mean time between rainfall events is almost certainly in the range of decades if not centuries.
We don't know what we don't know about Titan, and so we explore it, but I wouldn't bet on finding puddles that have lasted decades. |
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