ESA Science & Technology - Titan Fly-by - 22 June 2009

This encounter is set up with two manoeuvres: an apoapsis manoeuvre on 14 June, and a Titan approach manoeuvre, scheduled for 19 June. T57 is the sixth fly-by in a series of eleven inbound encounters and the thirteenth Titan encounter in Cassini's Equinox Mission. It occurs just under three days before Saturn closest approach.

Science Highlights

• Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS)
  INMS has a prime observation at closest approach of the night side outer flank at mid Southern latitudes.
• Cassini Radar (RADAR)
  RADAR conducts a ridealong SAR on INMS, outbound altimetry, scatterometry, and radiometry. The SAR runs parallel to tracks from the two previous fly-bys T55 and T56 in the southern hemisphere mapping sequence.
• Radio Science Subsystem (RSS)
  RSS observes an ingress-only Titan ionospheric/atmospheric occultation on T57. The occultation probes a northern latitude of 78.7°, the highest in both the nominal and extended missions. The occultations will shed more light on Titan's polar vortex, and together with previous occultations, on the latitudinal variability of the electron density profile of the ionosphere, temperature/pressure profile, absorptivity profile, and small scale-structure of the neutral atmosphere.
• Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS)
  CIRS conducts mid-southern latitude far and mid infrared vertical composition section.
• Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS)
  ISS will perform a 0.5-hour illuminated prime observation primarily for photometry. ISS will ride along with VIMS to observe Titan's trailing hemisphere at mid-southern latitudes and relatively low phase angle and with CIRS to monitor clouds.
• Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS)
  On the inbound leg, the phase angle is much larger than 90° and VIMS ridealong observations will provide information on Titan's atmospheric composition. After closest approach, VIMS will observe the South Pole region riding along with CIRS far from Titan. Only cloud monitoring will be possible.
• Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS)
  The instrument will obtain an image cube of Titan's atmosphere at EUV and FUV wavelengths by sweeping its slit across the disk. These cubes provide spectral and spatial information on nitrogen emissions, H emission and absorption, absorption by simple hydrocarbons, and the scattering properties of haze aerosols. This is one of many such cubes gathered over the course of the mission to provide latitude and seasonal coverage of Titan's middle atmosphere and stratosphere.
• Magnetospheric Imaging Instrument (MIMI)
  MIMI measures energetic ion and electron energy input to Titan's atmosphere.
• Dual Technique Magnetometer (MAG)
  T57 is another flank-out, post-dusk fly-by, with a minimum altitude of 955 km. As in T55 and T56 MAG measurements will provide a description of the draping and the pileup of the external magnetic field around Titan on the nightside hemisphere. It will be also a good complement to T52, T53, T54, T55 and T56 in order to characterize the background field for a similar local time with respect to Saturn and different SKR longitudes.
• Radio and Plasma Wave Science (RPWS)
  RPWS will measure thermal plasmas in Titan's ionosphere and surrounding environment; search for lightning in Titan's atmosphere; and investigate the interaction of Titan with Saturn's magnetosphere.

Table of Events

13 June 2009

19 June 2009

20 June 2009

22 June 2009

23 June 2009

24 June 2009

Observation Results

Cassini Instrument: Cassini Radar (RADAR) 

Release Date: 16 July 2009 Credit: NASA/JPL Image Notes: Radar image centred near 76.5°S, 213°W showing an area in Titan's south polar region of 190×140 km with an enigmatic 100-km wide basin.