Chapter 13. Cassini and Huygens at Titan

13.1 Introduction

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Author: Jordan Raddick, Johns Hopkins University

Editor: Beth Hufnagel, Anne Arundel Community College

Titan's Atmosphere
Haze in Titan's atmosphere, as seen by the Cassini orbiter.
Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech

The goals of this module: After completing this exercise, you should be able to:

  1. Summarize the most important features of Saturn's moon Titan, including how it is similar to and different from Earth.

In this module you will explore:

  1. The nature of Saturn's strange moon Titan.

Why you are doing it: Titan is one of the most fascinating places in the Solar System, both similar to yet different from Earth in many interesting ways. Just as visiting a foreign country lets us explore the possibilities for human cultures, studying Titan lets us explore the possibilities for different worlds.

13.2 Background

Cassini Orbiter
An artist's conception of the Cassini orbiter.
Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech

Titan, Saturn's largest moon, is the only moon with a dense atmosphere, and the only place other than Earth where liquids have been discovered on the surface.

Titan was discovered by Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens in 1655, but the first clear image came with the Voyager 1 mission in 1980. Voyager 1 discovered Titan's thick atmosphere, but its instruments were not able to see through the atmosphere. When NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) were planning a joint mission to Saturn in the 1980s and 1990s, they wanted to plan a detailed exploration of Titan.

As part of the Cassini mission to Saturn, they planned several flybys of the moon from the Cassini spacecraft. They also designed the Huygens probe to drop through the atmosphere of Titan. Huygens carried cameras, instruments to measure the chemistry of the atmosphere, and sensors to use once the probe reached the surface. Because the mission designers weren't sure whether the probe would fall onto solid ice or an ocean of liquid hydrocarbons, they planned for both possibilities.

In December 2004, Huygens separated from Cassini to head for Titan. When it got there, it fell through Titan's atmosphere for about two hours, and continued to transmit data from the surface for another two hours.

13.3 Quick Check Quiz

Indepth Activity: Cassini and Huygens at Titan

Question 13.1

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Correct.
Incorrect.

Question 13.2

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Correct.
Incorrect.

Question 13.3

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Correct. Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, is the only moon with a dense atmosphere and the only place other than Earth where liquids have been discovered on the surface.
Incorrect. Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, is the only moon with a dense atmosphere and the only place other than Earth where liquids have been discovered on the surface.

Question 13.4

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Correct. Scientists believe low temperature volcanism from “cryo-volcanoes” could explain the origin of methane (a hydrocarbon) in the atmosphere of Titan.
Incorrect. Scientists believe low temperature volcanism from “cryo-volcanoes” could explain the origin of methane (a hydrocarbon) in the atmosphere of Titan.

Question 13.5

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Correct. The atmosphere on Titan is so thick that if you stood on the surface you would feel like you were standing at the bottom of a swimming pool with the weight of all the water above you pressing down.
Incorrect. The atmosphere on Titan is so thick that if you stood on the surface you would feel like you were standing at the bottom of a swimming pool with the weight of all the water above you pressing down.