[X] My Assistant

[edstrick]

tallbear: "....However, the Cassin Tour will be altered in early 2006 and these opportunities may go away while others may appear.....

Uh... Say WHAT?....is this a branch to an entirely different series of encounters than the second half of the primary mission that they've been designing in (necessarily) obsessive-compulsive detail for the last decade? Did they have to retarget to make a close flyby of a Vogon Mothership? Or did they find a spinning blue telephone call-box floating in Saturn orbit? <grin!>

[Guest_BruceMoomaw_*]

I pretty much take for granted that an extended mission will include lots more Titan flybys, several of Enceladus, a second one of Iapetus, and probably one of Mimas. Beyond that, it's anybody's guess -- and I imagine it will depend on what interesting phenomena they see during their long-term observations of Saturn, its rings and its magnetosphere, as well as what we see on the remainder of Titan.

[Guest_AlexBlackwell_*]

I pretty much take for granted that an extended mission will include lots more Titan flybys...

Given the fact that Titan is needed for gravity assists, this is a pretty safe bet. Another interesting fact is that Titan will enter an "eclipse season" starting in January 2009 and lasting through February 2010, with one ~six-hour eclipse per orbit. Some teams (e.g., INMS) would like to observe Titan's atmosphere during these events if a close flyby opportunity can be found, although other instruments (remote sensors) could take measurements from much greater distances.

[Toma B]

...Another interesting fact is that Titan will enter an "eclipse season" starting in January 2009 and lasting through February 2010, with one ~six-hour eclipse per orbit...

What would temperature on any satellite (especially Titan) be in Saturns shadow?
Would it be cold enough for nitrogen in Titans atmosphere to start condensing?