Today's Attitude: [Studying Like Crazy]

Huygens Probe is Due on Titan

Since the Cassini Probe was lunched in December of 1997, it has been traveling toward Saturn for it's observation schedule of Saturn's Moons and Rings. Piggy-backing on Cassini was the Huygens probe -- yes, yes, named after Christian Huygens, the Ether-theorist who first succeeded in challenging Newton's Particle Theory of Light and, of course, plotted out a number of Saturn's moons (including Titan). The Huygens Probe is meant to fall through Titan's atmosphere (with a progressive parachute system) for a few hours and land taking lots of data.

Titan is one of the oddest moons in the solar system. It is the largest natural satellite of Saturn and even bigger than both planets Mercury and Pluto. Because of Titan's unusually thick atmosphere (even by Earth standards), it is difficult to measure anything of significance on its surface (if it even has a well-defined surface). If calculations are correct, the air pressure at the surface might be as high as 1.5 times Earth's atmospheric pressure at sea level. Because of Absorption curves and reflection factors, it seems as if the atmosphere is made of an odd concoction of simple Methane, Nitrogen, Argon, Carbon Dioxide and Hydrogen Cyanide. Though approximations of temperatures are much cooler than the Earth (~ -290 F), it is thought that some of these atmospheric elements may act much like water does near 30 - 50 F. The Hubble Telescope has shown evidence of clouds and possibly a sea of some liquid - but nothing absolutely definable. The Huygens probe has a transmitter powerful enough (it is hoped) to penetrate the atmosphere from inside.

The Huygens Probe is due to hit Titan's thick atmosphere on January 14th and take data the whole way down to the surface, using a high powered transmitter to send the info back through the atmosphere. Since NASA scientists expect the atmosphere to be difficult to penetrate, they only believe the batteries will only allow about 2-3 hours of transmitable operation.

I have been waiting for this since just after graduation from UD in '95. I hope the wait is worth it. Many fringe scientists hope to find more than just data but weird new self-replicationg molecular forms (aka, a weird definition of Life) using one of its odd atmospheric elements as a base, much like water is used on Earth.

I'm excited!!! I hope you are.