[X] My Assistant

[Del Palmer]

The mission flyby description is now up.

975 km altitude, focusing on the southern hemisphere, lots of RADAR observations including a bit of SAR...

[Juramike]

I really, really like the idea of a coupled orbiter-lander(balloon) mission to Titan.

This could be pretty similar to the Viking missions. The orbiter could give you SAR-RADAR, radiometry and further upper atmosphere chemistry studies plus would serve as data relay for the surface science package.

A real nicety would be to mount a SHARAD-type RADAR on the orbiter capable of penetrating 0.5-1 km below the surface to identify features buried below the dune sands, washed in sediments, or buried under the temperate polar schizzle.

IMHO the best surface science package would come from a balloon that would be capable of a reasonably sustained flight along an equitorial track. "Simple" hyperspectral imaging from below the cloud deck with less methane interference would give you data that would be able to identify and characterize a variety of different terrain types found in the Equatorial zones. [Xanadu continents, tectonic ridges and mantles, craters, cryovolcanoes, bright channels, dark channels, impact craters, bright center-dark halo objects, rotten terrain, dune sands].

The amount of characterization and detail from the Huygen's data when coupled with the SAR-RADAR data is incredible: Imagine doing this again for a different region or over a longer track?

If the balloon were able to "toe dip" and drag or touch a surface package onto the surface, nice instruments could include RAMAN and IR spectroscopy, GCMS, or some type of LCMS that could help "taste" Titan's surface and try to sort out the products there. Again, following the Viking missions, it might be possible to design experiments that would carry out chemical modifications then subject the resulting broth to chemical analysis to determine post-degradation components. Hopefully, this would give results that could work back to figuriing out the original chemical components.

[I don't think the "ping and fling" method of chemical analysis (direct injection into LCMS) is going to work on Titan. I think we need to do the "pour and roar" beforre we do the "ping and fling" (boil sample in 0.1N aq. HCl (for example), elute through SPE cartridge, then LCMS of isolated bands)].


A perfect track for a balloon would be right along the spine of Quivra. That region offers a really diverse target-rich environment. Starting at Sotra facula and tracking E, you'd hit a cryovolcano (Sotra Facula), channel, dune sands, dark channels, blue ice sand bay and shore margin, tectonic ridges, bright center dark halo objects and craters all packed in a 500 km ground track. (If we're willing to blow off Sotra facula and the W Quivra channel, you can get most of the above in a 125 km downwind ground track along Quivra.)

I will bet that there will be new terrain types that will show up as well as maybe even more exciting targets as Cassini unfolds. (Keep a watch on NE Shangri-La and W Senkyo basins).

-Mike