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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.
The size of solid bodies does not include an object's atmosphere. For example, Titan looks bigger than Ganymede, but its solid body is smaller. For the giant planets , the "radius" is defined as the distance from the center at which the atmosphere reaches 1 bar of atmospheric pressure.
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]
Soviet Mars Spacecraft that missed its orbital insertion burn: Solar Orbit: Lost contact 1988: 1988 Europa Clipper: 6,065 kg (13,371 lb) Jupiter and Europa science probe with an ETA in 2030. Solar Orbit on route to Jupiter: In service: 2024– Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer: 5,963 kg (13,146 lb) Jupiter science probe and Ganymede orbiter with an ...
Profile of Titan's atmosphere compared to Earth's. Titan is thought to be a prebiotic environment rich in complex organic compounds, [65] [138] but its surface is in a deep freeze at −179 °C (−290.2 °F; 94.1 K) so it is currently understood that life cannot exist on the moon's frigid surface. [139]
The SOHO (ESA & NASA) joint project implies that all materials created by its probe are copyrighted and require permission for commercial non-educational use. [2] Images featured on the Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) web site may be copyrighted.
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.
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 ...