Huygens' path to Titan (Forwarded)

ESA News
http://www.esa.int

1 June 2007

Huygens' path to Titan

Scientists now know exactly how Huygens made its way to the surface of
Titan. The trajectory reconstruction is the culmination of two years of
effort and is particularly valuable for a correct interpretation of the
observations from all six scientific investigations on board.

It is the culmination of eight years of preparatory work and two years of
data analysis by the Huygens Descent Trajectory Working Group.

In any space mission, it is the science data that attracts the most
attention. Yet without a precise reconstruction of the path taken by
Huygens to reach the surface of Titan, scientists would struggle to put
this data into context.

Huygens had an internal clock that time-stamped every measurement that the
probe took. "It is crucial to be able to correlate any data measurement to
the altitude and speed the spacecraft had at the time of measurement. This
is the ultimate goal of the trajectory reconstruction effort," says Bobby
Kazeminejad, co-chair of the Huygens Descent Trajectory Working Group, now
working at the German Space Operations Centre (DLR).

Reconstruction of the trajectory was split into three phases. The first
phase consisted of the supersonic entry of the probe from an altitude of
about 1250 kilometres above Titan's upper atmosphere down to an altitude
of about 100 kilometres. During this time, the heat shield slowed the
probe from 22 times down to 1.5 times the speed of sound.

The second phase was the descent phase under the parachute, which
overlapped the first phase by starting at an altitude of 145 kilometres
and lasted until Huygens landed on Titan's surface. As soon as the
parachute opened, the influence of the wind could clearly be seen. The
team split the probe's movement into two components: vertical and
horizontal. The vertical movement was dominated by Titan's gravity,
pulling the probe downwards against the resistance of the parachute
system. The horizontal movement was determined by the wind blowing it
sideways.

The team combined temperature and pressure measurements from the Huygens
Atmosphere Structure Instrument (HASI) with other measurements from the
Surface Science Package (SSP), the Gas Chromatograph and Mass Spectrometer
(GCMS), Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer (DISR) and the Doppler Wind
Experiment (DWE) to arrive at their trajectory.

The final phase was the merging of the two reconstructions, using the 145-
to 100-kilometre overlap.

The full results of this effort by Kazeminejad and his colleagues are
reported in the special issue of Planetary and Space Science, devoted to
the Huygens mission. In the same issue David Atkinson, chair of the
Huygens Descent Trajectory Working Group, University of Idaho, explains
the organization and structure of the team.

In addition Erich Karkoschka, University of Arizona, and colleagues report
that DISR shows the probe drifted two degrees north of east, while
dropping from 145 to 50 kilometres. Between altitudes of 30 and 20
kilometres, it turned five degrees south before resuming its eastward
motion. At 6.5 kilometres altitude, it reversed to a west-northwest
direction before turning back to a southeast drift at 0.7 kilometres.

Apart from making Huygens drift, the wind also caused the probe to tilt.
By analysing the signal strength of the radio link between Huygens and
Cassini, a team led by Yvonne Dzierma, Universität Bonn, estimate the
probe's spin, tilt and coning motion during the descent.

Ralph Lorenz, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, Maryland, and
his colleagues show that the SSP detected similar motions, and revealed a
turbulent atmospheric layer between 20 and 30 kilometres. By comparing the
motions in this layer with those recorded on terrestrial balloons, Lorenz
and his colleagues suggest that the turbulence may have been associated
with clouds.

Another report by Lorenz indicates that the density and temperature
structure of the atmosphere can be corroborated using data from the
engineering sensors on Huygens.

Finally Paul Withers, Boston University, explains that it is possible to
determine the mean molecular mass of an atmosphere using pressure and
temperature measurements. Traditionally, the mean molecular mass of an
atmosphere is determined using a mass spectrometer, such as GCMS. Withers'
new technique will provide a powerful crosscheck on this and future
missions.

The success of this effort is particularly significant because the
combination of Titan's dense and cold atmosphere, together with the
operational challenges posed by the satellite's enormous distance from
Earth, makes the Huygens trajectory reconstruction unique. "We realised
that we could not always apply the standard techniques on Titan; we had to
bring in new methods and ideas and start from scratch," says Kazeminejad.

The final test was whether the defined reconstruction methodology and its
implementation could actually provide an accurate landing site location.
This was checked against other estimates, such as those from DISR images
and the radar measurements from the Cassini orbiter.

All methods showed a remarkably strong agreement as to where Huygens
landed. This increases the project's confidence in that they know exactly
how their probe behaved. "Everything converges to the same location," says
Kazeminejad, "All the years of work have paid off."

Note for editors

This article is based on five papers to appear in a special issue of the
Planetary and Space Science magazine dedicated to Huygens results:

* 'DISR imaging and the geometry of the descent of the Huygens probe
within Titan's atmopshere', by E. Karkoschka et al.
* 'Huygens probe descent dynamics inferred fron Channel B signal level
measurements', by Y. Dzierma, M. Bird et al.
* 'Descent motions of the Huygens probe as measured by the Surface Science
Package (SSP): turbulent evidence for a cloud layer', by R. Lorenz et al.
* 'Huygens'entry and descent through Titan's atmosphere * methodology and
results of the rajectory reconstruction', by B. Kazeminejad et al.
* 'The Huygens probe descent trajectory working group: organizational
framework, methods and goals', by D. Atkinson et al.

Cassini-Huygens is a joint mission between NASA, ESA and the Italian Space
Agency (ASI).

For more information

Erich Karkoschka
Lunar and Planetary Lab, Univ. Arizona
Email: Erich @ pirl.lpl.Arizona.EDU

Yvonne Dzierma
Geophysikalisches Institut, Univ. Kiel
Email: Ydzierma @ geophysik.uni-kiel.de

Ralph D. Lorenz
John Hopkins Univ. Applied Physics Lab., MD, USA
Email: Ralph.Lorenz @ jhuapl.edu

Bobby Kazeminejad
DLR
Email: Bobby.Kazeminejad @ dlr.de

David Atkinson
Dept. of electrical engineering, Univ. Idaho, USA
Email: Atkinson @ ece.uidaho.edu

Jean-Pierre Lebreton, ESA Huygens Project Scientist
Email: Jean.Pierre.Lebreton @ esa.int

[NOTE: Images and weblinks supporting this release are available at
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-...EM9RR1F_1.html ]