Titan Martin E
Facts Largest Moon of Saturn. Has an atmosphere containing mostly Nitrogen and methane. 1 gram on Earth would weigh 0.14g on Titan. Only know moon in our solar system to have a dense atmosphere. 16 Earth day orbital period of Saturn.
The surface The first probe to land on Titan was the Huygens Probe in 2005. Pictures and data from the spacecraft revealed that Titan had Earth like landscapes and oceans of methane which eroded rocks smooth on the surface.
Atmosphere Titan is the only known moon in the solar system to have an atmosphere. Titan s atmosphere is made up of about 98.4% nitrogen, with the remaining 1.6% made mostly of methane and hydrogen. Titan s atmosphere is around 50% thicker than Earth s. As well as this, the atmosphere is very spread out due to the low gravity on Titan. Due to both of these factors, it would be possible to fly out of Titan s atmosphere with only a simple set of wings.
Oceans As well as an atmosphere, Titan has oceans of methane on its surface. Just like Earth, these oceans carve out the landscape by eroding the rock. On Earth, methane is usually only found in a gaseous form. As it is so cold on Titan, methane can exist in solid, liquid and gaseous form, a bit like Earth s water cycle. It is thought that a liquid water ocean could exist beneath the methane (with the methane acting as an insulator to keep it in liquid form).
Landscape & Climate Titan is extremely cold as it is over 1 billion km from the sun. This means that it is covered with liquid methane; a chemical which on Earth, is not stable enough to form a liquid. The liquid methane shapes the beautiful landscapes you see below. Liquid methane has its own cycle. It rains, forms clouds and flows just like water. However, the rain droplets are twice the size of those on Earth.
Getting There Reaching Titan is a difficult task A mission must have many things to work: Habitation for the surface. Transport with enough habitation and fuel. Working mechanisms to escape the highly flammable Titan atmosphere. Transport and habitation for the return as well as suitable re entry modules.
Rockets To reach the moon, only one rocket was needed For this mission we are using 10 rockets
Launches Breakdown The First six are all heavy cargo lifters. They transport the two habitation modules (HAB) and the Titan Assent Vehicle (TAV) as well as the three propulsion stages for each. Propulsion Stage Propulsion Stage Propulsion Stage HAB HAB TAV
Launches Breakdown The next three launches are also heavy cargo lifters. These carry the two propulsion stages for the crew transport habitat (CTH). Each of the segments dock in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to form the titan transport vehicle Aeris (Latin for air). Aeris I
Crew Launch The third stage is jettisoned and Orion opens its solar panels. After a further 6 minutes, the core stage is jettisoned along with the escape tower and panel fairings. The third stage then powers the Orion Capsule to LEO. After 2 minutes the solid rocket boosters (SRB) separate. Orion Capsule The crew arrive at Aeris by launching on an SLS Crew Vehicle.
Docking & Leaving The Orion Spacecraft docks with Aeris and the crew get on-board One crew member stays behind and takes the Orion Capsule towards the ISS (International Space Station). Aeris then fires its engines and leaves LEO for Titan.
Flight Course Not To Scale It would be impossible to fire an engine all the way to Saturn as it would require too much fuel. Instead, Aeris will fire its rockets to Mars. When it reaches the red planet, it will use the gravity to slingshot around to Jupiter. Jupiter will then give the big push that is needed to reach Saturn The first flight will launch on the 14 th October 2020 as that is when the Planets next come into alignment.
Entering Titan As Aeris arrives at Titan, three landing craft will separate and land, each carrying 10 crew members. These craft are called Aura I, II & III ( Greek Titaness of the breeze) Friction against the base of the space craft glows as Aura experiences hypersonic aero assisted deceleration. This slows the space craft from 30,000 km/h to around 1,000 km/h
Reaching the Surface Despite the deceleration from the atmosphere, Aura is still traveling at over 1,000 km/hour! Two drogue chutes are first deployed. This slows Aura to 20m/s. 60 seconds later, the three main parachutes will deploy, slowing the space craft down to a steady 6m/s (15mph) 30 seconds after that, floating landing gear deploys and Aura lands on a methane ocean.
Getting to Land Aura A speed boat like carrier (Neosi) transports crew from Aura to the HABs Parachutes Heat shield Hypersonic thrusters Supplies storage Neosi Carrier Hydraulic Deployment
Activities There are many Sports that can be done on Titan. These include: Swimming Since the gravity is so low, it is possible to leap out of the methane oceans like a dolphin. Hiking There are plenty of mountains to climb. They should be much easier to climb than Earth's mountains as the gravity is much lower. Flying Due to Titan s atmosphere being 50% thicker than Earth s, all that is needed to fly unassisted is a small set of wings (1m each) strapped to your arms.
Returning to orbit Getting off Titan is difficult as it has a highly flammable atmosphere meaning rockets cannot be used. Instead, the TAV uses a hydrogen balloon which lifts the vehicle most of the way. It is only when the atmosphere has become thin enough that it will not catch fire that engines will be fired. This will power the TAV into orbit where it docks with Aeris. The TAV is then jettisoned before Aeris leaves Titan.
Return Course Not To Scale Aeris will slingshot around Saturn on a straight course for Earth. It will arrive at Earth on 30 th August 2023, almost three years after leaving
Re entry As Aeris is captured into LEO, the Orion space craft will dock and pick up the crew. Orion will then jettison its service module and enter Earth s atmosphere.
Parachutes & landing Two drogue chutes will deploy for 23 seconds slowing the spacecraft to less than mach 1. The main chutes will then open in stages. 3%, 40% & 100%. Orion will splash down in the Pacific ocean at around 20 mph.
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