Titan Mare Explorer (TIME): The First Exploration of an Extraterrestrial Sea

Fact Sheet: Page 1 of 2

Science Objectives and Anticipated Payload . Determine the chemistry of a Titan lake to constrain Titan’s methane cycle. Instrument: Mass Spectrometer 1 . Determine the depth of a Titan lake. Instrument: Sonar 2 . Characterize physical properties of lake liquids. Instrument: Physical Properties Package 3a . Determine how the local meteorology over the lakes ties to the global cycling of methane. Instrument: Meteorology Package 3b . Analyze the morphology of lake surfaces, and if possible, shorelines, in order to constrain the kinetics of lake liquids and better understand the origin and evolution of Titan lakes. Instrument: Descent 4 and Surface 5 Imagers

Focused, high-priority Discovery Science

5 Lake Lander Mission Objectives 3b . First exploration of planetary sea beyond Earth . Flight demonstration of ASRG in two Liquid environments: deep space and non- Level terrestrial atmosphere 4 . Pioneer low-cost, outer planet 1 missions 3a 2

Relevance and Importance to NASA Planetary Objectives and the Decadal Survey

Decadal Survey – Volatiles and Organics, The Stuff of Life . Directly measure the organic constituents on another planetary object Decadal Survey – Processes: How Planetary Systems Work . First active measurement of liquid cycle beyond Earth Direct Successor to Revolutionary Cassini Discoveries Titan Mare Explorer (TIME): The First Exploration of an Extraterrestrial Sea

Fact Sheet: Page 2 of 2

Major Mission Characteristics 1. Launch: 21 day window opens 17 January 2015 using an Atlas 411. 2. Cruise: One DSM, one Earth flyby en route to Saturn. 3. Titan Entry: Cruise stage separates from lander shortly before Titan entry on 29 June 2022. 4. Lander Target: Ligeia Mare, a large lake centered near 250° longitude, 80° latitude. 5. Landed Operations: Earth & the Sun are above the horizon for the 6 month mission lifetime, during which TiME collects and transmits data on the lake and atmosphere. 6. Titan’s Surface: A simulated image of Ligeia’s shoreline acquired using the TiME Surface Imager.

1. 2. 3. Lander Cruise Stage

4. 5. 6.

Mission Management NASA HQ: Program Discovery Office . PI: Ellen Stofan (Proxemy Research) Principal Investigator . Co-Is: Jonathan Lunine (Univ. of Az.), Ralph Lorenz Science Team (APL), Paul Mahaffy (Goddard), Oded Aharonson Project Manager (CalTech), Randy Kirk (USGS), Ben Clark (SSI), Systems Engineering Independent Beau Bierhaus (LM) Safety & Msn. Assurance Oversight / Insight

. Project Manager: TBD Flight System Payloads Mission Operations

Mission Schedule

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2022 2023 ∅-B ∅-C ∅-D Cruise to Saturn Science Possible Extended Mission

ATP PDR CDR ARR Launch DSM-1 Earth Flyby Titan Entry EOM