tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270899075443508100.post1307744382002635982..comments2024-01-03T20:28:17.727-08:00Comments on Future Planetary Exploration: Enceladus Sample Return Mission ConceptVan Kanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14227978868817989527noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270899075443508100.post-20006498419324538732011-10-26T08:24:27.507-07:002011-10-26T08:24:27.507-07:00The problem with sampling the plumes during a Satu...The problem with sampling the plumes during a Saturn flyby is that the spacecraft will be moving at many kilometers per second relative to the material in the plumes. At those speeds, the material would vaporize. By entering orbit around Saturn and using gravity assists, the flyby speed can be lowered to 1-2 km/second if memory serves me correctly.<br /><br />The Stardust mission was enabled by the ability to find a comet encounter with relatively low flyby speed. Even then, the volatiles were vaporized, but the rocky grains were preserved. At Enceladus, the goal is to collect those volatiles and any hydrocarbons intact, so a lower flyby speed is desired.Van Kanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14227978868817989527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270899075443508100.post-21664872153234283312011-10-24T16:23:54.442-07:002011-10-24T16:23:54.442-07:00Would it not be much cheaper/simpler to have one e...Would it not be much cheaper/simpler to have one encounter and then return to Earth? Arrange it so that we fly by Titan and Enceladus on the ingress, make the burn for Earth return as we swing around Saturn? I would think all that fuel to enter Saturn orbit and then leave would be a lot of unnecessary weight.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270899075443508100.post-67279064834270427262010-02-13T08:18:46.752-08:002010-02-13T08:18:46.752-08:00vk:
"...The team proposes to encounter Tit...vk:<br /><br /> "...The team proposes to encounter Titan one to two times for sampling of its upper atmosphere. (It's not clear if the sampling would be with in situ instruments or by the collection of material to return to Earth..."<br /><br />Although I favor the study of Titan in general, I question whether the sampling of Titan's upper atmosphere is wise assuming the mission risk or duration is increased. For example, if the flight parameters for Titan are off slightly, the entire mission could be endangered. In my opionion, the focus of the mission should be entirely on Enceladus and it's plumes. There is no reason to add unnecessary risk to an already long, complex, and risky mission.<br /><br /> "...I think that the mission needs at a minimum to also carry an ice penetrating radar to directly measure the extent and depth of the ocean believed to lie within Enceladus and be the source of its plumes. I also think that a minimal remote sensing instrument suite consisting of a visible and thermal imager should be carried. The former can study the surface structure and pinpoint plume sources while the latter can measure the 'hotspots' that are the connection between the suspected ocean and the surface..."<br /><br />I agree with you 100%. In fact, I think of them as an essential part of the mission. Not including them would be a major mistake. <br /><br />With the exception of plume sampling, the proposed Europa mission has many of the same capabilities. And NASA considers them all to be essential. So why not Enceladus as well?Al Schmittnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270899075443508100.post-40935239085250560682010-02-12T08:46:55.923-08:002010-02-12T08:46:55.923-08:00I hope this mission is not cancelled. Saturn's...I hope this mission is not cancelled. Saturn's moons are amazing and mysterious. I can't really wait to see a rover in Titan, for instance.Luis María Benítezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06833355341151452054noreply@blogger.com