Author Topic: Calm lakes on Titan could mean smooth landing for future space probes  (Read 744 times)

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rangerrebew

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Calm lakes on Titan could mean smooth landing for future space probes
7/05/2017 11:30:00 AM

The lakes of liquid methane on Saturn's moon, Titan, are perfect for paddling but not for surfing. New research led by The University of Texas at Austin has found that most waves on Titan's lakes reach only about 1 centimeter high, a finding that indicates a serene environment that could be good news for future probes sent to the surface of that moon.


"There's a lot of interest in one day sending probes to the lakes, and when that's done, you want to have a safe landing, and you don't want a lot of wind," said lead author Cyril Grima, a research associate at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG). "Our study shows that because the waves aren't very high, the winds are likely low."

Read more at https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2017/07/calm-lakes-on-titan-could-mean-smooth.html#M4CMV2ap3BkTWzJh.99