Simulation and analysis of the revised Huygens probe entry and descent trajectory and radio link modelling

Kazeminejad, B.; Pérez-Ayúcar, Miguel; Lebreton, Jean‐Pierre; Sanchez-Nogales, M; Belló-Mora, Miguel; Strange, Nathan; Roth, D. C.; Popken, L.; Clausen, K.; Couzin, P.

doi:10.1016/j.pss.2004.03.008

Cited by 9 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The nominal T 0 time for the V04 model is 4.57 min past interface epoch (the defined epoch at which the probe is at an altitude of 1270 km) and occurs at an altitude of ∼158 km. These values correspond very well to the corresponding values published for the Y97 model by Kazeminejad et al (2004). The V04 extreme models introduce time shifts (with respect to the nominal epoch) to the parachute sequence starting time (T 0 ) of ∼+4.4 s for the minimum (T 0 occurs at ∼133.9 km altitude) and −12.4 s (T 0 occurs at ∼185.4 km altitude) for the maximum model.…”

Section: Huygens Entry Simulationssupporting

confidence: 86%

“…During this phase the probe is protected from the atmospheric induced radiative and convective heat fluxes by a 2.7-m diameter front heat shield as it decelerates from about Mach 22.5 to Mach 1.5 in just under five minutes (Clausen et al, 2002). Detailed simulations of the Huygens entry and descent trajectory were recently published by Kazeminejad et al (2004) which are entirely based on the Y97 atmosphere model. The authors consider extreme case scenarios of parameters that drive the entry and descent mission sequence.…”

Section: Huygens Entry Simulationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Titan's upper atmosphere conditions will influence both the Huygens probe entry trajectory (Kazeminejad et al, 2004), as well as all of the currently planned 1 Cassini low Titan flybys which go down to an altitude of ∼1000 km (N. Strange, private communication). We evaluate the impact of temperature uncertainties in Titan's upper atmosphere on the atmospheric drag acting on both Huygens and Cassini.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Temperature variations in Titan's upper atmosphere: Impact on Cassini/Huygens

et al. 2005

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Abstract. Temperature variations of Titan's upper atmosphere due to the plasma interaction of the satellite with Saturn's magnetosphere and Titan's high altitude monomer haze particles can imply an offset of up to ±30 K from currently estimated model profiles. We incorporated these temperature uncertainties as an offset into the recently published Vervack et al. (2004) (Icarus, Vol. 170, engineering model and derive extreme case (i.e. minimum and maximum profiles) temperature, pressure, and density profiles. We simulated the Huygens probe hypersonic entry trajectory and obtain, as expected, deviations of the probe trajectory for the extreme atmosphere models compared to the simulation based on the nominal one. These deviations are very similar to the ones obtained with the standard Yelle et al. (1997) (ESA SP-1177) profiles. We could confirm that the difference in aerodynamic drag is of an order of magnitude that can be measured by the probe science accelerometer. They represent an important means for the reconstruction of Titan's upper atmospheric properties. Furthermore, we simulated a Cassini low Titan flyby trajectory. No major trajectory deviations were found. The atmospheric torques due to aerodynamic drag, however, are twice as high for our high temperature profile as the ones obtained with the Yelle maximum profile and more than 5 times higher than the worst case estimations from the Cassini project. We propose to use the Cassini atmospheric torque measurements during its low flybys to derive the atmospheric drag and to reconstruct Titan's upper atmosphere density, pressure, and temperature. The results could then be compared to the reconstructed profiles obtained from Huygens probe measurements. This would help to validate the probe measurements and decrease the error bars.

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Section: Huygens Entry Simulationssupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Huygens Entry Simulationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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