dipper@utastro.UUCP (Debbie Byrd) (12/06/84)
Saturn's large moon Titan is an intriguing place. More on a possible future space mission to Saturn and Titan -- right after this. December 6 Space Mission to Saturn and Titan Right here at McDonald Observatory in the 1940s, Saturn's large moon Titan was discovered to have an atmosphere. We now know it to be the only moon in the solar system with thick "air". In this decade, the Voyager spacecraft saw Saturn and its moons close-up. The atmosphere of Titan proved to completely cover whatever plain or exotic landscapes lie on the surface. Because of its remarkable atmosphere -- and because we can't see its surface -- scientists long to know Titan better. So NASA is now exploring a possible low-cost mission to Saturn and Titan -- a combination Saturn orbiter- probe to plunge through Titan's thick clouds, and a radar mapper to reveal some of the moon's hidden surface. This mission is now being studied jointly with ESA, the European Space Agency. It's informally known as the "Cassini mission" for the astronomer who discovered the wide gap in Saturn's rings. The Cassini mission could be launched as early as 1993. Shortly before the Saturn encounter, the spacecraft would release the Titan probe -- which would descend through that world's clouds for approximately one hour. Meanwhile, the main spacecraft would go into orbit around Saturn. It would investigate the planet, its thousands of rings, and its smaller moons. The craft would occasionally encounter Titan while orbiting Saturn -- and the gravity of Titan would be used to change the orbit -- to give the craft a good tour of the space around Saturn. During those Titan encounters, the Saturn orbiter could also use radar eyes to peer at Titan itself -- to begin mapping some of its hidden surface. Script by Deborah Byrd. (c) Copyright 1983, 1984 McDonald Observatory, University of Texas at Austin