Abstract
The conceptual design of a submarine for Saturn’s moon Titan was a funded NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Phase 1 for 2014. The effort investigated what science a submarine for Titan’s liquid hydrocarbon ~93 K (–180 °C) seas might accomplish and what that submarine might look like. Focusing on a flagship class science system (~100 kg) it was found that a submersible platform can accomplish extensive and exciting science both above and below the surface of the Kraken Mare The submerged science includes mapping using side looking sonar, imaging and spectroscopy of the sea at all depths, as well as sampling of the sea’s bottom and shallow shoreline. While surfaced the submarine will not only sense weather conditions (including the interaction between the liquid and atmosphere) but also image the shoreline, as much as 2 km inland. This imaging requirement pushed the landing date to Titan’s next summer period (~2047) to allow for continuous lighted conditions, as well as direct-to-Earth (DTE) communication, avoiding the need for a separate relay orbiter spacecraft. Submerged and surfaced investigation are key to understanding both the hydrological cycle of Titan as well as gather hints to how life may have begun on Earth using liquid/sediment/chemical interactions. An estimated 25 Mb of data per day would be generated by the various science packages. Most of the science packages (electronics at least) can be safely kept inside the submarine pressure vessel and warmed by the isotope power system. This chapter discusses the results of Phase I as well as the plans for Phase II.
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Acknowledgements
This work was funded the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program as a Phase I Study in 2014. The authors wish to heartily thank the NIAC program Team: Jay Falker, Jason Derleth, Ron Turner, Katherine Reilly, and Barbara Mader for their guidance, patience and insight during this conceptual design study. The investigators also wish to acknowledge with the strongest possible vigor the contributions of the COMPASS team to the Titan Submarine design. Without their creativity, innovation, and perseverance the submarine’s design would never have been created: Cryogenics, Jason Hartwig; Hydrodynamics Engineer, Justin Walsh (PSU/ARL); Systems Engineer, Jeff Woytach; Science, Geoff Landis; Navigation, Mike Martini; Mechanical Systems, Amy Stalker; Thermal Control, Anthony Colozza; Power, Paul Schmitz; C&DH and Software, Hector Dominguez; Communications, Robert Jones; Configuration, Tom Packard; Visualization, Michael Bur; and Cost, Tom Parkey and Elizabeth Turnbull. We also wish to thank Les Balkanyi, Lorie Passe, Lisa Liuzzo, and Eric Mindek for bringing the Titan Submarine to life in word, pictures, and video—the American public, indeed the world, knows of the Titan Submarine because of their work.
Finally, a nod to dreamers such as Jules Verne who inspire us to explore new worlds: 'Mobilis in Glaciali!'
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Oleson, S.R. et al. (2018). Titan Submarine. In: Badescu, V., Zacny, K. (eds) Outer Solar System. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73845-1_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73845-1_11
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