Titan Flyby - 10 March 2007
07 Mar 2007
Just 16 days after Titan-25, Cassini returns to Titan for its twenty-seventh targeted encounter: Titan-26. The closest approach to Titan occurs on Saturday, 10 March, at 01:49 UT at an altitude of 980 kilometres above the surface and at a speed of 6.2 kilometres per second.
The latitude at closest approach is 32.0° N and the encounter occurs on orbit number 40. This encounter is set up with two manoeuvres: an apoapsis manoeuvre on 2 March, and an approach manoeuvre, scheduled for 6 March. This is the second in a series of outbound Titan encounters (the series ends with T33), and occurs about 3 days after Saturn closest approach.
Science Activities
- Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS)
The Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer will be pointed in the spacecraft motion direction at closest approach to allow its detectors to scoop up material from the top of Titan's atmosphere and determine constituents. This flyby is of the Northern equatorial part of Titan and is at dusk and flank-in. This is the first opportunity for a high quality ion observation that is flank-in
- Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) and the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS)
Second of three Titan solar occultations in the prime mission. VIMS and UVIS will be observing the Sun as it passes through Titan's atmosphere at latitude 76° S
- Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS)
High-resolution coverage north of Belet and global mapping of the territory north of Belet and Adiri. This is only the second time that ISS has had an opportunity to observe new territory north of Belet and the first time at high resolution
- Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS)
Far-IR surface temperature maps. These scans (N-S or E-W) are designed to measure surface temperature variations through a spectral window after accounting for a haze component. Outbound, CIRS is doing a limb temperature scan, a limb aerosol scan, and a limb composition integration
Table of Events
17 February 2007
| Time UTC |
Time wrt
Titan-26 |
Activity |
| 10:52:00 |
- 20d 15h |
Start of sequence S28 which contains Titan-26 |
22 February 2007
| Time UTC |
Time wrt
Titan-26 |
Activity |
| 03:18:00 |
- 15d 23h |
Ascending ring plane crossing |
5 March 2007
| Time UTC |
Time wrt
Titan-26 |
Activity |
| 21:01:00 |
- 04d 05h |
Descending ring plane crossing |
6 March 2007
| Time UTC |
Time wrt
Titan-26 |
Activity |
| 17:06:00 |
- 03d 09h |
OTM #97 prime; Titan-26 targeting manoeuvre |
7 March 2007
| Time UTC |
Time wrt
Titan-26 |
Activity |
| 07:09:00 |
- 02d 19h |
Saturn periapse, r = 12.1 RS, lat = -54°, phase = 83° |
8 March 2007
| Time UTC |
Time wrt
Titan-26 |
Activity |
| 00:21:00 |
- 02d 01h |
OTM #97 backup |
9 March 2007
| Time UTC |
Time wrt
Titan-26 |
Activity |
| 09:21:00 |
- 16h 28m |
Turn cameras to Titan |
| 09:51:00 |
- 15h 58m |
Deadtime, 17 minutes long. Used to accommodate changes in flyby time |
| 10:08:00 |
- 15h 41m |
ISS imaging, to search for and monitor lightning/aurora |
| 11:08:00 |
- 14h 41m |
Titan atmospheric observations. Obtain information on the thermal structure of Titan's stratosphere |
| 12:49:00 |
- 13h 00m |
Titan atmospheric observations. Obtain information on trace constituents in Titan's stratosphere |
| 15:49:00 |
- 10h 00m |
ISS Imaging, WAC photometry |
| 16:49:00 |
- 09h 00m |
Titan atmospheric observations. Obtain vertical profiles of temperatures in Titan's stratosphere. |
| 20:49:00 |
- 05h 00m |
Titan atmospheric observations. Obtain information on surface & tropopause temperatures |
| 23:34:00 |
- 02h 15m |
Titan atmospheric observations. Vertical sounding of stratospheric compounds on Titan |
10 March 2007
| Time UTC |
Time wrt
Titan-26 |
Activity |
| 01:02:00 |
- 00h 47m |
Ingress solar occultation by Titan |
| 01:38:00 |
- 00h 11m |
Titan atmospheric observations. Determine atmospheric and ionospheric composition and thermal structure |
| 01:49:00 |
+ 00h 00m |
Titan-26 flyby closest approach time.
Altitude = 980 km, speed = 6.2 kms-1, 150° phase at closest approach |
| 02:12:00 |
+ 00h 23m |
Titan atmospheric observations. Vertical temperature sounding of Titan's tropopause & stratosphere |
| 03:35:00 |
+ 01h 46m |
Titan atmospheric observations. Vertical sounding of stratospheric compounds on Titan |
| 04:12:00 |
+ 02h 23m |
ISS imaging: regional map |
| 06:04:00 |
+ 04h 15m |
Titan atmospheric observations. Obtain information on surface & tropopause temperatures |
| 06:49:00 |
+ 05h 00m |
Titan atmospheric observations. One slow scan across Titan's visible hemisphere to form spectral images |
| 09:49:00 |
+ 08h 00m |
ISS imaging: global map and WAC photometry |
| 10:49:00 |
+ 09h 00m |
Titan atmospheric observations. Obtain information on trace constituents in Titan's stratosphere |
| 12:49:00 |
+ 11h 00m |
ISS imaging. Monitoring for surface/atmosphere changes |
| 14:49:00 |
+ 13h 00m |
Titan atmospheric observations |
| 17:03:00 |
+ 15h 14m |
Deadtime, 14 minutes long. Used to accommodate changes in flyby time |
| 17:17:00 |
+ 15h 28m |
Turn to Earth-line |
| 17:47:00 |
+ 15h 58m |
Playback of T26 data |
Observation Results
Cassini Instrument: Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS)
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Date: 24 April 2007
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
Image Notes: Wide-angle camera image at 939 nm, showing Titan's dark terrain. Image taken from 255 000 km away, centred at 45° north latitude |
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Last Update: 30 Jul 2007
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