OUT OF MIND
Would you like to react to this message? Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue.
Latest topics
» As We Navigate Debs Passing
NASA Is Sending a Rotorcraft to Titan in 2027. Here's Where It Will Land. EmptyMon Jan 08, 2024 6:18 pm by Ponee

» 10/7 — Much More Dangerous & Diabolical Than Anyone Knows
NASA Is Sending a Rotorcraft to Titan in 2027. Here's Where It Will Land. EmptyThu Nov 02, 2023 8:30 pm by KennyL

» Sundays and Deb.....
NASA Is Sending a Rotorcraft to Titan in 2027. Here's Where It Will Land. EmptySun Oct 01, 2023 9:11 pm by NanneeRose

» African Official Exposes Bill Gates’ Depopulation Agenda: ‘My Country Is Not Your Laboratory’
NASA Is Sending a Rotorcraft to Titan in 2027. Here's Where It Will Land. EmptyThu Sep 21, 2023 4:39 am by NanneeRose

» DEBS HEALTH
NASA Is Sending a Rotorcraft to Titan in 2027. Here's Where It Will Land. EmptySun Sep 03, 2023 10:23 am by ANENRO

» Attorney Reveals the “Exculpatory” Evidence Jack Smith Possesses that Exonerates President Trump
NASA Is Sending a Rotorcraft to Titan in 2027. Here's Where It Will Land. EmptyTue Aug 29, 2023 10:48 am by ANENRO

» Update From Site Owner to Members & Guests
NASA Is Sending a Rotorcraft to Titan in 2027. Here's Where It Will Land. EmptyTue Aug 29, 2023 10:47 am by ANENRO

» New global internet censorship began today
NASA Is Sending a Rotorcraft to Titan in 2027. Here's Where It Will Land. EmptyMon Aug 21, 2023 9:25 am by NanneeRose

» Alienated from reality
NASA Is Sending a Rotorcraft to Titan in 2027. Here's Where It Will Land. EmptyMon Aug 07, 2023 4:29 pm by PurpleSkyz

» Why does Russia now believe that Covid-19 was a US-created bioweapon?
NASA Is Sending a Rotorcraft to Titan in 2027. Here's Where It Will Land. EmptyMon Aug 07, 2023 4:27 pm by PurpleSkyz

»  Man reports history of interaction with seemingly intelligent orbs
NASA Is Sending a Rotorcraft to Titan in 2027. Here's Where It Will Land. EmptyMon Aug 07, 2023 3:34 pm by PurpleSkyz

» Western reactions to the controversial Benin Bronzes
NASA Is Sending a Rotorcraft to Titan in 2027. Here's Where It Will Land. EmptyMon Aug 07, 2023 3:29 pm by PurpleSkyz

» India unveils first images from Moon mission
NASA Is Sending a Rotorcraft to Titan in 2027. Here's Where It Will Land. EmptyMon Aug 07, 2023 3:27 pm by PurpleSkyz

» Scientists achieve nuclear fusion net energy gain for second time
NASA Is Sending a Rotorcraft to Titan in 2027. Here's Where It Will Land. EmptyMon Aug 07, 2023 3:25 pm by PurpleSkyz

» Putin Signals 5G Ban
NASA Is Sending a Rotorcraft to Titan in 2027. Here's Where It Will Land. EmptyMon Aug 07, 2023 3:07 pm by PurpleSkyz

» “Texas Student Dies in Car Accident — Discovers Life after Death”
NASA Is Sending a Rotorcraft to Titan in 2027. Here's Where It Will Land. EmptyMon Aug 07, 2023 3:05 pm by PurpleSkyz

» The hidden history taught by secret societies
NASA Is Sending a Rotorcraft to Titan in 2027. Here's Where It Will Land. EmptyMon Aug 07, 2023 3:03 pm by PurpleSkyz

» Vaccines and SIDS (Crib Death)
NASA Is Sending a Rotorcraft to Titan in 2027. Here's Where It Will Land. EmptyMon Aug 07, 2023 3:00 pm by PurpleSkyz

» Sun blasts out highest-energy radiation ever recorded, raising questions for solar physics
NASA Is Sending a Rotorcraft to Titan in 2027. Here's Where It Will Land. EmptyMon Aug 07, 2023 2:29 pm by PurpleSkyz

» Why you should be eating more porcini mushrooms
NASA Is Sending a Rotorcraft to Titan in 2027. Here's Where It Will Land. EmptySun Aug 06, 2023 10:38 am by PurpleSkyz

» Study shows that glyphosate impairs learning in bumblebees: a wake-up call for insect conservation
NASA Is Sending a Rotorcraft to Titan in 2027. Here's Where It Will Land. EmptySun Aug 06, 2023 10:36 am by PurpleSkyz

» The power of automatic writing: a gateway to unlocking your inner wisdom
NASA Is Sending a Rotorcraft to Titan in 2027. Here's Where It Will Land. EmptySun Aug 06, 2023 10:34 am by PurpleSkyz


You are not connected. Please login or register

NASA Is Sending a Rotorcraft to Titan in 2027. Here's Where It Will Land.

Go down  Message [Page 1 of 1]

PurpleSkyz

PurpleSkyz
Admin

NASA Is Sending a Rotorcraft to Titan in 2027. Here's Where It Will Land.

Space04 October 2022
By David Nield

NASA Is Sending a Rotorcraft to Titan in 2027. Here's Where It Will Land. DragonflyProbe-642x260

 An illustration of the Dragonfly probe. (NASA/JHU-APL)  

Smothered in a hazy atmosphere that hides shallow lakes of liquid hydrocarbons, Titan is one weird world we're dying to look at up close. Which is why NASA is preparing to launch a robotic rotocraft to scope out the scenery in 2027.

We now have a better idea of just what kind of scenery awaits NASA's Dragonfly mission.
Due to arrive on Saturn's largest moon in 2034, the lander will eventually set itself down in the Shangri-la dune field near the Selk crater. Researchers describe it as a "scientifically remarkable area" worthy of exploration, and we still have plenty more to learn about it.
A new study maps six specific parts of the region, identifying it as a place likely to be covered by sand dunes and broken up, icy ground. The work will provide a foundation for models and hypotheses that can be tested by Dragonfly once the probe lands.
"Dragonfly will land in an equatorial, dry region of Titan – a frigid, thick-atmosphere, hydrocarbon world," says planetary scientist Léa Bonnefoy, from Cornell University in New York.

"It rains liquid methane sometimes, but it is more like a desert on Earth – where you have dunes, some little mountains and an impact crater. We're looking closely at the landing site, its structure and surface."
That close look involved a detailed analysis of radar images snapped by the Cassini probe: by looking at the way that radar signals change and reflect from different angles (technically known as their backscatter curves), the researchers were able to make educated guesses about parts of the Titan surface.
As Cassini's images only have a resolution of around 300 meters (984 feet) per pixel, the team also factored in data collected by the Huygens lander, which touched down to the south of the new prospective landing site.
So far many of these details, such as the height and shape of the Selk crater, are little more than estimates, meaning there's plenty of analysis to be done between now and 2034.

"Over the next several years, we are going to see a lot of attention paid to the Selk crater region," says planetary scientist Alex Hayes, from Cornell University.
Dragonfly is going to be what's called a rotorcraft; a helicopter-like contraption that will operate in a similar way to a consumer drone when it reaches the landing zone. It's planned to weigh around 450 kilograms (992 pounds), with eight rotors that are each about a meter (3.3 feet) in diameter.
In Titan's low wind, low gravity atmosphere, Dragonfly will zoom around at a maximum speed of 36 kilometers (22 miles) per hour, building up to longer and longer flights away from its initial landing site.
As Titan is in many ways comparable to the early Earth, scientists are hoping to learn more about our own planet as well as the Saturnian moon. Ultimately our understanding of Titan is expected to grow considerably once Dragonfly arrives, in the same way that the Curiosity rover has shown us so much more about Mars.
"Dragonfly is going to finally show us what the region – and Titan – looks like," says Bonnefoy.
The research has been published in the Planetary Science Journal.

https://www.sciencealert.com/nasa-is-sending-a-rotorcraft-to-titan-in-2027-heres-where-it-will-land
Thanks to: https://www.sciencealert.com

Back to top  Message [Page 1 of 1]

Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum