The Darwin Mission By Alex Tilley, Kyle O’Brien, and Penny Wu.
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Transcript of The Darwin Mission By Alex Tilley, Kyle O’Brien, and Penny Wu.
The Darwin Mission
By Alex Tilley,
Kyle O’Brien,
and Penny Wu
Vital Stats
• Fourteenth moon from Saturn • Sixth largest• Discovered in 1789 by
William Herschel• 550 km diameter• Located in the densest part of
Saturn’s E ring• Mass is 1.8*10^-5 of Earth• Average Density is 1.61 g/cm³• Escape velocity of 0.239 km/s
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Enceladus_moon_to_scale-PIA07724.jpg
Relationships
• It has a mean motion orbital resonance with Dione of 2:1 which is most likely responsible for its tidal heating
• It is most likely the creator of Saturn’s E ring
• It provides oxygen to Titan’s atmosphere
• There is an electrical connection between Saturn and Enceladus
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/02/23/enceladus-is-erupting/
The Surface
• The surface is made of ice• It has an average albedo of
1.4• There is a large variety of
surface types ranging from very smooth to laden with craters
• The southern polar region has long lines of geysers known colloquially as ‘tiger stripes’
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Enceladusstripes_cassini.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Enceladus_June_2008_PIA08417.jpg
Craters
• The oldest craters are thought to be over 4 billion years old and reside in the heavily cratered areas
• The smallest and youngest craters are found in the southern polar region.
• The wide variety of craters indicate possible ongoing geologic activity
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/07/EN004_Painting_on_the_walls.jpg
Tiger Stripes
• They are located in the southern polar region
• The plumes being ejected from the surface come from these stripes
• The space between them is 10% brighter than the rest of Enceladus
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap060310.html
Plumes
• The material is made of water vapor, hydrocarbons, and other elements.
• The material that escapes the atmosphere becomes Saturn’s E ring
• Sources are either sublimating ice or boiling water
http://www.trekmovie.com/images/sciencesaturday/022610enceladus.jpg
Pioneer 11
• Launched April 1973• Surveyed Saturn Sept 1979• Took the first close-up pictures of
Saturn• Mapped magnetic field of Saturn• Measured the temperatures of
Saturn’s and Titan’s atmospheres• Survey the environment of the ring
plane• Discovered two of Saturn’s smaller
moons• Extensively imaged Saturn’s rings
http://quest.nasa.gov/sso/cool/pioneer10/graphics/lasher/slide2lg.gif
Voyager 1 & 2
• Voyager 1 Reached Saturn in November, 1980
• Voyager 2 in August, 1981• Fly-by missions to better
image the rings of Saturn• Discovered Prometheus and
Pandora• Paved the way for the
Cassini mission• Revealed half and half
terrain of Enceladushttp://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/imgcat/hires/vg2_4400428.gif
Cassini
• Present Mission• Sent Huygens probe to surface
of Titan• Discovered atmosphere on
Enceladus• Confirmed geologic activity on• Discovered “Yellowstone-like”
geysers• Determined that Enceladus
“rolled-over”• Discovered electrical
connection between Saturn and Enceladus
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/photos/imagedetails/?imageid=3344
More Questions
• Answer the following questions:– What is the driving force
behind the geologic activity (tectonics)?
– What lies beneath the ice shell?
– What causes the formation of geysers on the surface?
– Is there any evidence of life, past or present?
– Is it likely that there will be life in the future? http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/photos/imagedetails/index.cfm?imageId=3748
Goals for the Darwin Mission
• Collect expelled material from geysers
• Develop lander• Develop method to drill and
sample ice• Measure and quantify seismic
activity of Enceladus• Take sample of atmosphere• Test electric connection between
Saturn and Enceladus• Drill at tiger stripes to breach ice
shell• Develop method to send samples
back to earth
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/photos/imagedetails/index.cfm?imageId=3253
Power and Movement
• RTG power• Orbiter with
lander and detachable rover
• Antenna
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Exploration_Rover
Dust Samples
• Cosmic Dust Analyzer
• Send dust samples back
http://onlinegeography.wikispaces.com/RE+-+Monitoring+and+Predicting+Volcanoes
Drilling
• Drill through ice at southern polar region
• Send ice samples back
http://michaeldemeng.blogspot.com/2011/03/art-lab-2-alchemist-toolbox-register.html
Seismic Activity and Craters
• Seismograph• Send rock
samples back• Panoramic
Cameras
http://lasp.colorado.edu/sdc/studyofdust.php#tab2
Atmosphere
• Magnetometer • Magnetosphere
Imaging Instrument
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/newsreleases/newsrelease20010129/
Ethical Concerns
• Fuel leakage• Leaving rover
or other parts behind
http://www.thewatergeeks.com/Water-Contamination-sp-18.html
Cost
• Cassini-Huygens mission ~ $3.3 Billion
• Darwin Mission ~ $5 Billion
http://carlarpr.wordpress.com/2010/11/30/where-the-money-at/
Sources
Cassini , http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/spacecraft/index.html Cassini FAQ , http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/faq/FAQMission/ Mars Rover , http://marsrovers.nasa.gov/overview/
Status of Outer Planet Flagship Mission Studies, http://www.lpi.usra.edu/pss/presentations/200707/niebur_flagship.pdf
Frictional heating explains plumes on Saturn's moon Enceladus, http://news.ucsc.edu/2007/05/1293.html
Cassini Solstice Mission, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/cassiniorbiterinstruments/
NASA Cassini, http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/main/index.html
NASA Voyager, http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/voyager/index.html
NASA Pioneer, http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/pioneer/index.html
Cassini Observes the Active South Pole of Enceladus, http://www.sciencemag.org/content/311/5766/1393.full