HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - AVIATR
OR:
AVIATR on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

AVIATR (Aerial Vehicle for In situ and Airborne Titan Reconnaissance) was a proposed airplane mission concept to
Titan Titan most often refers to: * Titan (moon), the largest moon of Saturn * Titans, a race of deities in Greek mythology Titan or Titans may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities Fictional locations * Titan in fiction, fictiona ...
, a moon of
Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant, with an average radius of about 9 times that of Earth. It has an eighth the average density of Earth, but is over 95 tim ...
. The concept was developed in 2011 by a team of scientists led by Jason W. Barnes at the
University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho, United States. Established in 1889 and opened three years later, it was the state's sole university for 71 years, until 1963. The un ...
. Compared to Earth, Titan has about one-seventh the gravity but four times the atmospheric density. These conditions make it easier to fly there.


Summary

The Aerial Vehicle for In-situ and Airborne Titan Reconnaissance (AVIATR) is a proposed unmanned plane (or drone) which if approved, will take high-definition images of the surface of
Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant, with an average radius of about 9 times that of Earth. It has an eighth the average density of Earth, but is over 95 tim ...
's moon
Titan Titan most often refers to: * Titan (moon), the largest moon of Saturn * Titans, a race of deities in Greek mythology Titan or Titans may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities Fictional locations * Titan in fiction, fictiona ...
to help scientists understand the
moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...
's geology. It is planned that at the end of the mission, the unmanned plane will attempt a landing on Titan's dunes.


Overview

The design called for a airplane powered by an advanced Stirling radioisotope generator that would have allowed it to fly uninterrupted for about one year. However, the National Research Council's "Decadal Survey" did not prioritize the moon Titan for exploration, and the development of the advanced Stirling radioisotope generator was suspended indefinitely.


See also

*
Nuclear power in space Nuclear power in space is the use of nuclear power in outer space, typically either small nuclear fission, fission systems or radioactive decay for electricity or heat. Another use is for scientific observation, as in a Mössbauer spectrometer. T ...
* ''Dragonfly'' (spacecraft) (NF4 finalist)


References


External links


AVIATR proposal presentation
Missions to Saturn Titan (moon) Proposed space probes Extraterrestrial aircraft Advanced Stirling radioisotope generator Unmanned aerial vehicles of the United States Nuclear-powered aircraft {{spacecraft-stub