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Exploration of Titan

-- | April 13, 2012

Question: I am doing a research project on the moon Titan and was wondering if you could answer some questions about Titan.

1. Will researching Titan be one of NASA’s top priorities since it has shown signs that it could harbor microscopic life?

In fact, the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft (currently orbiting Saturn) should provide some interesting and enlightening measurements of Titan. During many flybys of Titan, the Cassini orbiter will map Titan with cloud-penetrating radar and collect atmospheric data. Complementing these mapping measurements is the the Huygens probe, which dove through Titan’s dense atmosphere on 14 January 2005 with instruments capable of analyzing its components.

2. How come Titan is the only natural satellite with an atmosphere? What in its origin help make this happen?

I believe that is all boils down to Titan’s relatively large size for a moon and its location in the Solar System. Those two properties lead to an environment where Titan could accumulate the gases necessary to produce the atmosphere it has today.

3. In what ways are Titan and Earth’s origin linked? What type of clues could Titan harbor that could help us learn more about Earth’s origin?

Since Titan is the only other body in the Solar System with a dense nitrogen-rich atmosphere like that of the Earth, Titan’s atmosphere might be viewed as a primordial version of Earth’s atmosphere. This then can help us understand the origin and evolution of Earth’s atmosphere.

4. What reasons do you think scientist believe that Titan may harbor life? Do you believe that it could harbor life or do you think it is unlikely that life could exist there?

Titan contains trace amounts of methane, which has been suggested by some as due to a biological origin. There are many natural ways to produce methane on Titan which do not require a biological origin. In general, there are many obstacles to producing life on Titan, not the least of which is Titan’s large distance from the Sun, making it a rather cold world.

5. What plans are in the future in terms of researching? What future projects will be related to collecting information on Titan?

There are two proposed missions to Titan that I am aware of. The Titan Saturn System Mission (TSSM) is a collaborative mission between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) which is designed to explore Saturn’s moons. There has also been a proposal for a Titan Mare Explorer (TiME), which would be a low-cost lander that would splash down in a lake near Titan’s north pole and float on the surface of the lake for 3 to 6 months.

Jeff Mangum

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