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Concept(If you want more details, follow this link)
 | The baseline mission concept is for two moderate-size spacecraft to be launched around 2020 on one or two launch vehicles (to be assessed). They will provide both in-situ (near or at the surface), as well as remote science measurements of both Titan and Enceladus, via the initial establishment of a novel, but practical, Saturn orbit (analytically validated), which periodically visits these two moons, and then subsequently enters orbit around Titan, to be joined shortly thereafter by separate Titan probes.
The baseline architecture uses chemical propulsion and radioisotope power (other options such as solar panels will be studied). Furthermore, new orbit insertion options such as aerocapture, aerobraking, etc will also be assessed. |
The two spacecraft are defined as follows:
(a) A Titan-Enceladus Orbiter carrying also the Enceladus in situ package, and
(b) A Carrier for the Titan in situ investigation elements : the Titan Montgolfiè (hot air balloon, thanks to Titan's dense and cold atmosphere which allows for such an element) and up to three mini-probes.
In order to address our key science objectives, a dedicated Titan orbiter is essential. Most observations require a 3-axis stabilized spacecraft but several measurements would benefit from a spinning orbiter spacecraft element (to be assessed). The orbiter would provide telecom relay between the different elements and Earth. Direct to Earth (DtE) communications, as well as Earth-based and Earth-bound observations could, as for Huygens, can provide supplementary information to support the mission. The orbiter will first go into orbit around Saturn and then using cycler orbits make multiple flybys of Enceladus and fly through its South Polar plumes. It will also deliver an in situ package (probably with penetrators) to prime target sites on its surface. The orbiter will then go into orbit around Titan and probe its upper atmosphere-magnetosphere interaction, its atmosphere, its surface and its interior for both scientific reasons and reconnaissance purposes which will allow Titan's aerial probe to navigate safely down near its surface by providing both lower atmosphere climate and surface topography data. The enigmatic atmosphere dynamics and wind profiles on Titan will be diagnosed with high-precision VLBI and Doppler monitoring of the Mongolfière motion. In addition, VLBI tracking of all mission elements (orbiters, balloon and mini-probes) will provide positional measurements with sub-km accuracy (down to the accuracy of 10 m in the cases of special interest).
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