Manned Landing On Titan, Issues & Answers? |
Manned Landing On Titan, Issues & Answers? |
Oct 19 2006, 09:08 PM
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Merciless Robot Group: Admin Posts: 8784 Joined: 8-December 05 From: Los Angeles Member No.: 602 |
Just got to thinking about some of the problems that may have to be addressed if & when we ever try to visit Titan in person.
The first thing that comes to mind is what might happen if some Titanian air gets inside an oxygen-rich manned spacecraft, say from minor airlock residue. I imagine that the explosive potential of some of the trace gasses is pretty high, and there's probably also a significant risk of poisonous compounds as well. So, here are some tenative requirements: 1. REALLY efficient air-scavenging airlocks. 2. Surface suits that can't trap external gasses in creases, folds, etc. 3. Spark-proof electrical/electronic everything. 4. Smoking is strictly forbidden (with apologies to the entire 1950s SF movie genre!) Gotta be more...any ideas? -------------------- A few will take this knowledge and use this power of a dream realized as a force for change, an impetus for further discovery to make less ancient dreams real.
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Oct 21 2006, 12:19 PM
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Merciless Robot Group: Admin Posts: 8784 Joined: 8-December 05 From: Los Angeles Member No.: 602 |
1.6+ bar and mostly nitrogen to boot. If the lander & EVA suits were pressurized at that level, it sounds like the crew could get a BAD case of the bends when they return to the mother ship unless they decompress...better add a zero-gee decompression chamber to the shopping list!
-------------------- A few will take this knowledge and use this power of a dream realized as a force for change, an impetus for further discovery to make less ancient dreams real.
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Oct 22 2006, 09:05 AM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 112 Joined: 17-November 05 From: Canberra Member No.: 558 |
1.6+ bar and mostly nitrogen to boot. If the lander & EVA suits were pressurized at that level, it sounds like the crew could get a BAD case of the bends when they return to the mother ship unless they decompress...better add a zero-gee decompression chamber to the shopping list! A drop in 0.7 bar is not enough to result in the bends when people don in Shuttle EMU. So I don't see why a 0.6 bar drop should be an issue. If it is a concern, the ascent vehcile would require many hours to ascent to orbit and dock to the other ship, during which time the pressure could be gradually lowered. Breathing an atmsophere with a higher partial pressure O2 durting ascent would also speed N2 outgassing, if required. As for the airlock, what is the rate at which methane and other noxious gases can be removed from the atmosphere, and how is it removed? Jon |
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