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  • Titan-exploration-horizon2050_revised

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Science goals and new mission concepts for future exploration of Titan's atmosphere geology and habitability: Titan POlar Scout/orbitEr and In situ lake lander and DrONe explorer (POSEIDON)

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Published
  • Sebastien Rodriguez
  • S. Vinatier
  • Daniel Cordier
  • G. Tobie
  • Richard Achterberg
  • Carrie Anderson
  • Sarah Badman
  • Jason Barnes
  • Erika Barth
  • Bruno Bézard
  • Nathalie Carrasco
  • Benjamin Charnay
  • Roger N. Clark
  • Patrice Coll
  • Thomas Cornet
  • et al.
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<mark>Journal publication date</mark>12/2022
<mark>Journal</mark>Experimental Astronomy
Issue number2-3
Volume54
Number of pages63
Pages (from-to)911-973
Publication StatusPublished
Early online date11/01/22
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

In response to ESA’s “Voyage 2050” announcement of opportunity, we propose an ambitious L-class mission to explore one of the most exciting bodies in the Solar System, Saturn’s largest moon Titan. Titan, a “world with two oceans”, is an organic-rich body with interior-surface-atmosphere interactions that are comparable in complexity to the Earth. Titan is also one of the few places in the Solar System with habitability potential. Titan’s remarkable nature was only partly revealed by the Cassini-Huygens mission and still holds mysteries requiring a complete exploration using a variety of vehicles and instruments. The proposed mission concept POSEIDON (Titan POlar Scout/orbitEr and In situ lake lander DrONe explorer) would perform joint orbital and in situ investigations of Titan. It is designed to build on and exceed the scope and scientific/technological accomplishments of Cassini-Huygens, exploring Titan in ways that were not previously possible, in particular through full close-up and in situ coverage over long periods of time. In the proposed mission architecture, POSEIDON consists of two major elements: a spacecraft with a large set of instruments that would orbit Titan, preferably in a low-eccentricity polar orbit, and a suite of in situ investigation components, i.e. a lake lander, a “heavy” drone (possibly amphibious) and/or a fleet of mini-drones, dedicated to the exploration of the polar regions. The ideal arrival time at Titan would be slightly before the next northern Spring equinox (2039), as equinoxes are the most active periods to monitor still largely unknown atmospheric and surface seasonal changes. The exploration of Titan’s northern latitudes with an orbiter and in situ element(s) would be highly complementary in terms of timing (with possible mission timing overlap), locations, and science goals with the upcoming NASA New Frontiers Dragonfly mission that will provide in situ exploration of Titan’s equatorial regions, in the mid-2030s.

Bibliographic note

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10686-021-09815-8