Co powiecie na pomysł latającego łazika Curiosity w atmosferze Tytana?
A relocatable lander could explore the hazy skies of Saturn's intriguing moon Titan, according a new mission proposal. As the eight-bladed whirlybird travels across the moon, it could investigate some of the most promising potentially habitable sites on the Saturn satellite, where methane and ethane fall from the sky and flow as rivers and lakes.
The lander-size instrument, known as Dragonfly, would take advantage of Titan's low gravity and thick atmosphere to visit multiple sites over several years, moving from one promising site to the next and recharging between the brief flights. [...]
Instead, Dragonfly would use two rotors positioned at each of its four corners to fly from one region of the moon to the next, then recharge while landed using the multimission radioisotope thermoelectric generator (MMRTG) it would carry with it, which converts the heat from decaying plutonium-238 into electricity. This could mean Dragonfly could fly around Titan for years, or even decades, Turtle said. At the same time, the thick atmosphere would block damaging radiation, providing a welcoming environment for a long-lived mission, she added.
If NASA selects Dragonfly, the spacecraft would be ready for launch in the mid-2020s and should arrive in the 2030s, Turtle said. Cassini's data would provide potential landing sites, but once Dragonfly arrived, it would be able to scout them out and, using the same type of program that Mars rovers use to land safely, decide which one would be the best landing location. After landing, the quadcopter could launch and map several potential sites, and then return to its original spot to continue investigating while scientists decide where it should go next. [How Humans Could Live on Saturn's Moon Titan (Infographic)]
Jeszcze obrazeczek takiego cudeńka:
http://www.space.com/36598-dragonfly-quadcopter-saturn-moon-titan-explorer.htmlMnie koncepcja się bardzo podoba. Taki latający tytański Curiosity przysłałby nam cenne dane naukowe. Tylko myślę, że budżet tej misji nie zmieści się w klasie New Frontiers a raczej Flagschip
Chciałbym doczekać takiej misji na Tytana - łazikowej albo dronowej. Tylko, że w kolejce czekają misje na Europę i Enceladusa które ostatnio są bardziej modne od Tytana a szkoda..... Bo Tytan jest o wiele ciekawszym do zbadania miejscem.
Wg Wikipedii w skład tego pojazdu weszłyby takie urządzenia naukowe:
- Mass spectrometer to identify chemical components, especially those relevant to biological processes, in surface samples
- Gamma ray spectrometer to measure the composition of the shallow sub-surface
- Meteorological and geophysical sensors to document atmospheric conditions and probe subsurface structure and activity
- Cameras to image Titan's terrain and scout for scientifically interesting landing sites
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titan_Dragonfly_(spacecraft)
Tutaj oryginalny art opisujący koncept fruwającego Curiosity.
https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2017/pdf/1958.pdfZastanawiam się tylko, czemu to cudeńko nie ma parasola? Przecież na Tytanie pada i podczas misji może spaść węglowodorowy deszcz, który oblepi wszystkie urządzenia.