JET: a Journey to Enceladus and Titan
Abstract
As revealed by the Cassini Huygens mission, Enceladus and Titan represent two critical end-members in our understanding of planet/moon formation. Enceladus is a small icy world with active jets of water erupting from its surface that might be connected to a subsurface water ocean. High-resolution mass spectra of Enceladus’ jets and plume can differentiate between the various elements and molecules suggested by the recent observations. High-resolution thermal mapping of the tiger stripe fractures will constrain models of tidal dissipation. Titan, Saturn's largest moon, is the only satellite with a dense atmosphere and the only object besides Earth with liquid on its surface. A world rich with organics, Titan has a methane cycle thought to be comparable in atmospheric and geologic processes to Earth’s water cycle. High-resolution images of the Titan surface will bare evidence on the processes that are shaping and have shaped Titan at seasonal, Milankovitch, and geologic time scales. Direct sampling of Titan's upper atmosphere will provide clues on the processes involved in the cycling of organic on Titan. JET will be launched to Saturn in 2016 and will observe these two moons close to autumnal equinox, an opportunity not afforded again until 2054.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2010
- Bibcode:
- 2010AGUFM.P33A1570S
- Keywords:
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- 5464 PLANETARY SCIENCES: SOLID SURFACE PLANETS / Remote sensing;
- 6207 PLANETARY SCIENCES: SOLAR SYSTEM OBJECTS / Comparative planetology;
- 6280 PLANETARY SCIENCES: SOLAR SYSTEM OBJECTS / Saturnian satellites;
- 6281 PLANETARY SCIENCES: SOLAR SYSTEM OBJECTS / Titan