Aerothermodynamic environment for a Titan probe with deployable decelerator

Abstract

It is pointed out that further exploration of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, is of current interest to the scientific community, particularly from the standpoint of the organic chemical evolution of its atmosphere. For a suitable study of this Saturnian satellite, a mission involving a Titan atmospheric entry probe is to be conducted. The probe is to employ a deployable decelerator with the aim to allow scientific measurements in the haze layer. The present investigation is concerned with an assessment of the aerothermodynamic environment for the considered probe during its hypervelocity, low-Reynolds-number entry. Attention is given to the employed computational method, the Titan probe configuration, the Titan probe trajectory, the viscous-layer regime of the aerothermodynamic environment, and the incipient merged-layer regime.