Does Titan Have the Recipe for the Primordial Soup? Steve Gillam Cassini Navigation Team Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Thanks to the Cassini Titan Observations Science Team and the the Cassini Outreach Office for the materials presented in this telecon.
INTRODUCTION Titan is the largest of Saturn's moons, and is the second largest moon in the solar system. Titan is a complex world more similar to a terrestrial planet than a typical outer planet moon. - Titan's orbit carries it in and out of Saturn's magnetosphere
- Its surface is hidden by a thick nitrogen-rich atmosphere
- Methane in the atmosphere participates in sunshine-driven chemistry which has produced a photochemical smog
- Titan's hidden surface may have exotic features: mountains sculpted by hydrocarbon rain, rivers, lakes and "waterfalls" of flammable liquids
Huygens Probe Descent
Titan Science Summary - Scattered throughout the tour but 2006 and 2007 are the heaviest
- T0 July 1 2004 (350,000 km) flyby – happened hours after SOI
- TA Oct of 2004 - first RADAR SAR image
- TB Dec of 2004 - ORS flyby
- Huygens mission Jan 2005
Mainly ORS observations during the inbound and outbound flyby periods 4 broad science themes: - Interior Structure
- Surface Characterization
- Atmospheric Properties
- Magnetospheric Interactions
Titan Haze
Visual an IR Mapping Spectrometer Images of Titans Surface
SUMMARY THE EXPLORATION OF TITAN IS AT THE VERY HEART OF THE CASSINI / HUYGENS PLANETARY MISSION. TITAN IS THE SOLE FOCUS OF THE HUYGENS PROBE AND ONE OF THE MAIN TARGETS OF THE CASSINI ORBITER. By combining the results from the Cassini mission with Earth-based astronomical observations, laboratory experiments and computer modeling, scientists hope to answer basic questions regarding the origin and evolution of Titan's atmosphere, the nature of the surface, and the structure of its interior.
For more information about the Cassini Huygens mission http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov http://www.esa.int/esaCP http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huygens/SEM5A6HHZTD_0.html
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