TEAM - Titan Exploration Atmospheric Microprobes

We describe a novel mission architecture to investigate the lower atmosphere of Saturn's moon, Titan. Titan is the only moon in the solar system to possess a dense atmosphere, which has important similarities to, and differences from, the Earth. Like Earth, Titan has lakes and seas on its surface [1] - although these are composed of liquid hydrocarbons and not water [2], [3]. The proposed mission concept is comprised of two elements: (1) A small satellite module (PCV, Probe Carrier Vehicle) that is deployed from a host Saturn system mission spacecraft, which can be a NASA small or medium class mission (either Discovery or New Frontiers mission class) and acts as a carrier and data relay for the entry probes; (2) Four atmospheric entry probes (EP), one per $\sim 10^{\mathrm{o}}$ latitude from 60-90 °N, that aerobrake and descend under parachute from $\sim 135$ km to the surface, measuring profiles of temperature, winds and gas composition during the descent. Multiple probes at different latitudes are required to constrain the spatial variation in cloud formation, precipitation and the implications for lake composition. The mission concept would require a ride-share to reach the Saturn system. Currently three of the seven anticipated New Frontiers mission destinations are in the Saturn System: Saturn Probe, Enceladus and Titan itself. The TEAM (Titan Exploration Atmospheric Microprobes) mission concept is designed to be largely independent once deployed in the Saturn system, however the prime mission spacecraft (either New Frontiers or Discovery class mission) will provide the data relay from the PCV to the Earth. Key mission challenges include thermal management and probe release and navigation.