{"id":776057,"date":"2023-12-22T04:30:50","date_gmt":"2023-12-22T09:30:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=776057"},"modified":"2023-12-22T04:30:50","modified_gmt":"2023-12-22T09:30:50","slug":"should-we-send-humans-to-titan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=776057","title":{"rendered":"Should We Send Humans to Titan?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><em>Universe Today<\/em> recently examined the potential for sending humans to Jupiter\u2019s icy moon, Europa, and the planet Venus, both despite their respective harsh surface environments. While human missions to these exceptional worlds could be possible in the future, what about farther out in the solar system to a world with much less harsh surface conditions, although still inhospitable for human life? Here, we will investigate whether Saturn\u2019s largest moon, Titan, could be a feasible location for sending humans sometime in the future. Titan lacks the searing temperatures and crushing pressures of Venus along with the harsh radiation experienced on Europa. So, should we send humans to Titan?<\/p>\n<p><span id=\"more-164955\"\/><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<p>\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"What If We Settled on Titan?\" width=\"1110\" height=\"624\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ILQ5X97Ak18?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cYes!\u201d Dr. Jason Barnes, who is a Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Idaho, excitedly tells <em>Universe Today<\/em>. \u201cTitan is the second-safest place in the solar system after Earth.\u00a0It\u2019s protected from radiation, pressurized, and has great science to be gained by crewed exploration.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In addition to his academic duties, Dr. Barnes is also the Deputy Principal Investigator for NASA\u2019s upcoming Dragonfly mission, which is a rotorcraft designed to explore Titan\u2019s prebiotic chemistry and liquid methane lakes and seas, along with Titan\u2019s atmosphere of 95 percent nitrogen and 5 percent methane. Powered by a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG)\u2014which currently power NASA\u2019s Curiosity and Perseverance rovers\u2014Dragonfly will carry a suite of instruments to help determine the habitability potential for Titan, which, in addition to being the largest moon of Saturn, is is also the second-largest moon in the solar system\u2014the largest being Jupiter\u2019s moon, Ganymede.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Artist\u2019s rendition of NASA\u2019s Dragonfly exploring the Titan\u2019s surface. (Credit: NASA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>While Dragonfly will conduct the most in-depth surface exploration of Titan, this will not be the first spacecraft to land on Titan\u2019s surface, as that honor goes to the European Space Agency\u2019s Huygens probe, which landed on Titan\u2019s surface in January 2005 and transmitted data for approximately 90 minutes after touchdown before its batteries ran out. Additionally, Titan was studied in-depth by NASA\u2019s Cassini spacecraft at various times throughout its mission between 2004 and 2017. But with all this science having already been conducted by these robotic explorers, what additional science could be conducted by a human mission to Titan compared to a robotic mission?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSimilar to Mars, human boots on the ground could accomplish more exploration science faster than robots,\u201d\u00a0Dr. Barnes tells <em>Universe Today<\/em>. \u201cAdditionally, should life or prebiotic chemistry be found on Titan, people on-site could more safely study such life without risk of backward contamination to Earth.\u00a0Finally, because of its safety, Titan is a prime target for long-term human habitation as we progress outward into the solar system.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<p>\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Let Me Explain Why It Would Be Preferable To Colonize Titan Instead Of Mars!\" width=\"1110\" height=\"624\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1_xm-KIO7jc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>In terms of an orbital versus a surface mission for humans to Titan, Dr. Barnes tells <em>Universe Today<\/em>, \u201cOrbital missions with people don\u2019t make sense for science. Robotic orbiters do a great job, and our experience has shown that human remote sensing doesn\u2019t provide any advantages over the robots. But a long-term surface mission with a base and surface mobility could open up an entire world of science.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This \u201cworld of science\u201d includes up-close investigations of Titan\u2019s prebiotic chemistry, biochemistry, and organic chemistry, along with how Titan\u2019s atmosphere and seas and lakes of liquid methane could influence such chemical reactions for both the short and long term. However, living on Titan\u2019s surface would also come with its myriad of challenges, as well. While Titan is well-shielded from harmful solar radiation, its surface is both unbearably cold and extremely dark, as surface temperatures have been measured at -179.2 degrees Celsius (-290.6 degrees Fahrenheit) and Titan\u2019s surface is estimated to receive only 0.1 percent of the sunlight that Earth receives. But, how else could this \u201cworld of science\u201d pose additional challenges to human explorers on Titan\u2019s surface?<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<p>\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"What Does The Surface Of Titan Look Like? (4K UHD)\" width=\"1110\" height=\"624\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FFAX2Bhw-dg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cChallenges on the surface could be that the very organic molecules that make Titan so interesting could prove carcinogenic to a crew if pains are not taken to avoid getting them into the habitat,\u201d Dr. Barnes tells <em>Universe Today<\/em>. \u201cAnother challenge is generating power out there \u2014 you\u2019d basically need to bring a nuclear reactor with you, because there\u2019d be no native way to generate the power needed to drive crewed exploration.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<p>\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"What If You Swam in Titan&#039;s Lakes for 5 Seconds?\" width=\"1110\" height=\"624\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kx4UzkzjERM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>In addition to the challenges of living on Titan\u2019s surface, there is also the concern of the distance and travel time to the Saturnian system from Earth, as several missions have taken a minimum of several years to reach the Saturnian system, even if they took a direct route. For example, NASA\u2019s Pioneer 11 spacecraft launched in 1973 and needed six and a half years to reach Saturn after flying by Jupiter. Only a few years later, NASA\u2019s Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft were launched in 1977 and required three years and two months and four years, respectively, to reach Saturn after they conducted flybys of Jupiter. While NASA\u2019s Cassini mission conducted the most in-depth investigation of Saturn and its many moons, the spacecraft still required six years and nine months to get to Saturn after conducting two gravity assists at Venus, one at Earth, and one at Jupiter.<\/p>\n<p>Currently, the fastest spacecraft to reach Saturn is NASA\u2019s New Horizons spacecraft, which only required two years and four months to reach the ringed planet on its direct trajectory to Pluto. Therefore, even if a human mission were to take a direct route to Titan, it would still require a minimum of two years to arrive. Therefore, this lengthy travel time could hamper any resupply or rescue operation to Titan for a human mission.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<p>\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"What About a Mission to Titan? It&#039;s Time to Explore Saturn&#039;s Largest Moon\" width=\"1110\" height=\"624\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rzg78ySwIn4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThe travel time would be so long that any such expedition would need to be a pretty massive undertaking,\u201d\u00a0Dr. Barnes tells <em>Universe Today<\/em>. \u201cAlthough astronauts would be safe on Titan\u2019s surface from radiation, they would be subject to damage from solar storms en-route, at least while in the inner solar system. They\u2019d be so far away from home that there would be no possibility of rescue if their systems failed, so plenty of backups would need to be brought along.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Will we ever send humans to Titan? Will we learn more science than from a robotic mission like Dragonfly, and what will such a mission teach us about living and working so far from Earth? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!<\/p>\n<p><em>As always, keep doing science &amp; keep looking up!<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"sharedaddy sd-block sd-like jetpack-likes-widget-wrapper jetpack-likes-widget-unloaded\" id=\"like-post-wrapper-24000880-164955-658555ca8e669\" data-src=\"https:\/\/widgets.wp.com\/likes\/#blog_id=24000880&amp;post_id=164955&amp;origin=www.universetoday.com&amp;obj_id=24000880-164955-658555ca8e669\" data-name=\"like-post-frame-24000880-164955-658555ca8e669\" data-title=\"Like or Reblog\">\n<h3 class=\"sd-title\">Like this:<\/h3>\n<p><span class=\"button\"><span>Like<\/span><\/span> <span class=\"loading\">Loading&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"sd-text-color\"\/><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/164955\/should-we-send-humans-to-titan\/?rand=772204\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Universe Today recently examined the potential for sending humans to Jupiter\u2019s icy moon, Europa, and the planet Venus, both despite their respective harsh surface environments. While human missions to these&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":776058,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-776057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-genaero"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=776057"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776057\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/776058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=776057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=776057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=776057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}