Saturn is orbited by 62 prescribed moons , the largest of which is Titan . However , Titan is not your average satellite - bombastic than the satellite Mercury , Titan has a loggerheaded atomic number 7 atmosphere and a with child fluid hydrocarbon lake on the control surface . Unfortunately , it has been unmanageable to obtain much entropy about the lakes ’ depth or writing from the orbital missions . NASA has recently revealed what aconceptual submarine missionto Kraken Mare , the largest sea on Titan , would look like . Kraken Mare contains enough liquid methane to satisfy Lake Michigan three times over . Conditions are presumed to be rough , with changing tide and monolithic waves .
The hypothetical submarine would jaunt about 2,000 km ( 1,250 miles ) over the trend of a 90 day missionary station . While the craft would n’t have a trouble quell under the ocean during that time and diving , it will need to surface for air data back to Earth . It would be powered by aradioisotope thermoelectric generatorwhich does n’t have moving parts , make it a well alternative for a wiliness with such a long journey and will be dropped into the sea . Most of the power will be used to impel the submarine while under the control surface , but will be capable of execute science missions as well .
During the military mission , the submarine would make a phone number of observation and collect data using a variety of cat’s-paw . Some of themain objectiveswould be to analyze the chemical composition of the liquid , but also other oceanographic features such as stream and tidal traffic pattern . The craft would also be equipped with cameras for see Titan ’s shoreline and landscape . The skill goals are pretty vague at such an former juncture , but would be more graceful and detailed if the mission planning continues .
It is unidentified when such a commission would ever take place , as this is really just the first rough draught of what could be used to search Titan ’s Kraken Mare with a zep . There are a number of technological and logistical obstacles to reference before any propose launching date are developed , including Titan ’s orbit around Saturn . It takes most 30 Earth old age for Titan to orb around the planet , which will charm when such a mission could take place .
Other proposed mission to search Titan ’s seas include theTitan Mare Explorer(TiME ) mission proposed in 2009 , which functions more like a buoy than a boat . unluckily , the missionary post has been scrapped due to lack of development of the purpose fuel informant . However , a similar delegacy would likely precede an encompassing submarine mission , as is proposed here :
[ Hat tip : io9 ]
