Titan Mare Explorer

Titan Mare Explorer
Artist's impression of TiME lake lander
Mission typeTitan lander
OperatorNASA
Mission duration7.5 years
Cruise: 7 years;
3–6 months at Titan[1]
Spacecraft properties
Dry mass700 kg ("representative value" landed mass) [2]
Power140 W
Start of mission
Launch date2016 (proposed)[3][4][5]
Not taken beyond proposal
RocketAtlas V 411
Launch siteCape Canaveral SLC-41
ContractorUnited Launch Alliance

Titan Mare Explorer (TiME) is a proposed design for a lander for Saturn's moon Titan.[3] TiME is a relatively low-cost, outer-planet mission designed to measure the organic constituents on Titan and would have performed the first nautical exploration of an extraterrestrial sea, analyze its nature and, possibly, observe its shoreline. As a Discovery-class mission it was designed to be cost-capped at US$425 million, not counting launch vehicle funding.[4] It was proposed to NASA in 2009 by Proxemy Research as a scout-like pioneering mission, originally as part of NASA's Discovery Program.[6] The TiME mission design reached the finalist stage during that Discovery mission selection, but was not selected, and despite attempts in the U.S. Senate failed to get earmark funding in 2013.[7] A related Titan Submarine has also been proposed.[8][9]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Yirka was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Seakeeping on Ligeia Mare: Dynamic Response of a Floating Capsule to Waves on the Hydrocarbon Seas of Saturn’s Moon Titan Ralph D. Lorenz and Jennifer L. Mann, Johns Hopkins APL Technical Digest, Volume 33, Number 2 (2015)
  3. ^ a b Stofan, Ellen (2010). "TiME: Titan Mare Explorer" (PDF). Caltech. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 30, 2012. Retrieved August 17, 2011.
  4. ^ a b Taylor, Kate (May 9, 2011). "NASA picks project shortlist for next Discovery mission". TG Daily. Archived from the original on October 6, 2018. Retrieved May 20, 2011.
  5. ^ Greenfieldboyce, Nell (September 16, 2009). "Exploring A Moon By Boat". National Public Radio (NPR). Retrieved November 8, 2009.
  6. ^ Hsu, Jeremy (October 14, 2009). "Nuclear-Powered Robot Ship Could Sail Seas of Titan". Space.com. Imaginova Corp. Retrieved November 10, 2009.
  7. ^ "Discovery Mission Finalists Could Be Given Second Shot". Space News. July 26, 2013. Archived from the original on February 15, 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYT-20210221 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference NASA-20150701 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).