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Titan is similar to the very early Earth and can provide clues to how life may have arisen on Earth. In 2005, the European Space Agency's Huygens lander acquired some atmospheric and surface measurements on Titan, detecting tholins, [32] which are a mix of various types of hydrocarbons (organic compounds) in the atmosphere and on the surface.
Huygens (/ ˈ h ɔɪ ɡ ən z / HOY-gənz) was an atmospheric entry robotic space probe that landed successfully on Saturn's moon Titan in 2005. Built and operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), launched by NASA, it was part of the Cassini–Huygens mission and became the first spacecraft to land on Titan and the farthest landing from Earth a spacecraft has ever made. [3]
Spacecraft may change mass over time such as by use of propellant. During the Shuttle– Mir program between 1994 and 1998, the complex formed by the docking of a visiting Space Shuttle with Mir would temporarily make it heaviest artificial object in orbit with a combined mass of 250 tonnes (250 long tons ; 280 short tons ) in a 1995 configuration.
Recently, NASA selected the SpaceX Falcon Heavy to launch the Dragonfly aerial probe to Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. The selection constitutes another win for Elon Musk’s launch company.
Titan experiences storms similar to Earth, but instead of water there is methane and ethane liquids on Titan. [27] Data from Cassini found that Titan experiences dust storms similar to those on Earth and Mars. [28] When Titan is in equinox, strong down-burst winds raise micron-sized particles up from sand dunes and create dust storms.
Titan is the only object in the outer Solar System where a spacecraft has landed and conducted surface operations. The geology of Titan encompasses the geological characteristics of Titan, the largest moon of Saturn. Titan's density of 1.881 g/cm 3 indicates that it is roughly 40–60% rock by mass, with the rest being water ice and other ...
To support an Earth-like atmosphere for about 4.6 billion years (Earth's current age), a moon with a Mars-like density is estimated to need at least 7% of Earth's mass. [20] One way to decrease loss from sputtering is for the moon to have a strong magnetic field of its own that can deflect stellar wind and radiation belts.
The spacecraft was launched on 23 July 2020 and inserted into Martian orbit on 10 February 2021. The lander, carrying the rover, performed a soft landing on Mars on 14 May 2021, [3] making China the third country to successfully soft-land a spacecraft on Mars and the second one to deploy a rover on Mars, after the United States. [4]