Cassini, Titan Flyby on May 23, 2013

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Cassini
Titan Flyby (T-91): Looking for Waves
May. 23, 2013

Are there waves on Titan's lakes? Our best chance of answering this question is
with the May 23 flyby of Titan, when the Cassini spacecraft passes over the northern
sea named Ligeia Mare. The altimetry data that will be collected by the radar
instrument could show whether the surface of the lake is thick like molasses or as
thin as liquid water on earth.

In addition, radar will look for changes in small northern lakes last observed in the
T-16 and T-19 flybys. This flyby is a carefully planned sibling of the following flyby;
the combination of the data from T-91 and T-92 will provide stereo views of the same
geography, which will tell us about the depth of the lake walls.


Titan Flyby at a Glance

Date
May 23, 2013 [SCET]

Altitude
603 miles (970 kilometers)

Speed
13,000 mph (5.8 km/sec)