Saturn's largest moon, Titan (diameter=5150km) is one of the Solar System's most mysterious objects. It is permanently shrouded in an orange photochemical smog so that its surface has never been seen clearly - some researchers suggest its surface may be partially covered by a sea of liquefied petroleum gas! Equally exotic is its atmosphere - it is the only satellite in the entire Solar System to have a thick atmosphere. In fact, its nitrogen dominated atmosphere may well have similarities to our own Earth's primitive atmosphere.
PSSRI is deeply involved in Titan research through its major involvement in the Huygens probe, part of the NASA/ESA Cassini/Huygens mission. Huygens entered Titan's atmosphere in January 2005 and PSSRI were involved with two instruments - the Huygens Atmospheric Structure Instrument (HASI) and the Surface Science Package (SSP). Data from the PSSRI's sensors on Huygens provided unique information on the physical properties, structure and composition of Titan's atmosphere and surface (whether solid, liquid or something in between). To help interpret the amazing data from Huygens, PSSRI also has a Titan simulation facility to investigate possible chemical and physical processes operating on this unique satellite.
Image courtesy of NASA
