Huygens’ Surface Science Package

Abstract

The design and performance of the Surface Science Package (SSP) on the Huygens probe are discussed. This instrument consists of nine separate sensors that are designed to measure a wide range of physical properties of Titan’s lower atmosphere, surface, and sub-surface. By measuring a number of physical properties of the surface it is expected that the SSP will be able to constrain the inferred composition and structure of the moon’s near-surface environment. Although the SSP is primarily designed to sense properties of the surface, some of its sensors will also make measurements of the atmosphere along the probe’s entry path and will complement the data gathered by other experiments on the Huygens probe.KeywordsHuygens ProbeRefractive Index SensorHuygens Atmospheric Structure InstrumentLanding FootprintElectrical Ground Support EquipmentThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.