[X] My Assistant

[SFJCody]

Is a Discovery class Titan lander/aerobot remotely conceivable?

It would be nice to see Cassini's relay capability get a second workout...

[Rob Pinnegar]

Regarding the idea of a Huygens follow-up:

I suppose that, if we really wanted to go all-out, we could go for double mission: a rover with a detachable balloon tethered to it. This would reduce the odds of complete mission failure:

(1) If the balloon malfunctions during the initial landing, ditch it and send out the rover.

(2) If the rover doesn't survive the landing, cut the balloon loose so that it can independently explore Titan.

(3) Otherwise, leave the balloon tethered to the rover to act as a high-tech "crow's nest" to help the science team choose targets.

Since the rover has moving parts, it will likely break down first. Once that happens:

(3a) If the rover's wheels lose power while its science instruments are still functioning, put the rover in neutral and let the balloon act as a sail to drag it along the surface.

(3b) If the rover stops working completely while the balloon is still functioning, cut the balloon loose, and let it go on its merry way.

Actually, now that I think of it, this would really be a triple mission: the tether itself might also be useful for scientific purposes. Some thermistors could be woven into it to get vertical temperature profiles and, after the balloon was cut loose, the tether could be left hanging to give some idea of wind shear effects. Maybe also with some piezoelectric crystals to measure wind pressure?

There are two major caveats to this plan (besides the fact that it is wildly speculative and, in all likelihood, completely unfeasible from both economic and engineering standpoints):

(1) The rover had better be a lot heavier than the balloon. Otherwise the rover might get tipped over if the wind picks up. This might make option (3a) above impossible.

(2) There had better not be any lightning on Titan.