The Advanced Concept Initiative Program (NAIC) of the Nasa presented a new sample return system to the Tierra which approve resources in destiny as propulsor for the vuelta.
Applied to the concrete scenario of the luna Titán de Saturno, this proposition utilizes in situ volatile propellants available in its surface. The idea is to propose a system of devolution to the Earth of the monsters that obtains the mission Dragonfly, a flying artifact that was planned to be sent in 2027 to read Titan in 2036 with the aim of exploring Titan.
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This approach to Titan is very different from all the conventional concepts of in-situ resource utilization, and will contain a great value return based on planetary science, astrobiology and compensation of the origin of life, which is an order of magnitude greater difficult that other missions of return of masters, explained in a communiqué Steven Oleson, Glenn de la NASA Investigating Officer, to argue this mission plant.
In general, missions to these distant objects need sufficient propulsion for the regression path (which means a lot of additional and costly costs) or have a nuclear battery that can proportionate energy over the years.
As can be seen in the illustration, the new planting material consists of a modulation module and an ascension vehicle. Once placed on Titan’s surface, it could help the Dragonfly mission to receive samples collected by the quadcopter.
Using in situ recollected resources, the atrial fibrillation module proportions methane liquid and combustible oxygen liquid (created from local rock) for the ascending vehicle. This vehicle is loaded with models collected by Dragonfly and carries the regression to the Earth.
When transporting its propulsion propulsion, the return element of the mission must be a total lesser mass and, therefore, its costly launch less.