Practical long-lived exploration systems on and near the surface of Saturn’s moon Titan likely would require radioisotope power systems and could usefully exploit the waste heat from such systems to maintain benign internal operating temperatures. However, the heat must still be rejected, and the understanding of heat transfer conditions to the atmosphere, as well as to liquid and solid surfaces, is summarized. This waste heat may perturb the environment in several ways that would compromise scientific measurements. The potential meteorological disturbances introduced by various power levels are discussed, and the effects of heat flux on surface materials are assessed. It is found that a heat output of or higher requires a mast of 1 m or more be deployed away from a lander to avoid significant wind measurement perturbations. Even heat leaks of only through the hull of a vehicle immersed in Titan’s liquid hydrocarbon seas may cause significant effervescence and fog generation.
Heat Rejection in the Titan Surface Environment: Potential Impact on Science Investigations
Journal of Thermophysics and Heat Transfer ; 30 , 2 ; 257-265
2015-04-23
9 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
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