Saturn Lander May Hit Surface With Force Of Bomb

                            

Planterary scientists are considering smashing a lander into the frozen surface of Saturn's icy moon with the force of a bomb to reach the sea underneath.

A lander or drill would have to land on Enceladus with immense force to break through the thick icy surface to probe the hidden sea below.

A proposed lab-on-a-chip called an Enceladus Organic Analyser (EOA) could still do its job after an impact with an energy 50,000 times greater than Earth's gravitational pull, scientists say.


This is a greater G-force than that felt by an artillery shell.
The idea was discussed by planetary scientists at a meeting in Boulder, Colorado, as NASA's Cassini orbiter prepares to crash into Saturn next year at the end of its mission.
Enceladus fascinates space watchers because a crack in its exterior spews plumes of water into space, which add to Saturn's iconic icy rings.

At the meeting, Amanda Stockton from the Georgia Institute of Technology said that by putting optical instruments at the centre of a lander they could be more likely to survive impact.
Another option is called the Enceladus Explorer, a mission to set up a robotic space station near the moon's southern pole.

A robot drill called the IceMole would then be used to melt ice and ram through it. It could reach depths of up to 200 metres - where the ocean lies.
Reflecting on Cassini's mission, physics expert Angela Stickle said: "Cassini is fantastic and marvellous.

"But, as with any good spacecraft mission, it leaves us with more questions than answers. Having more missions to these planets will only help answer our questions."
Cassini was launched in 1997 and arrived in the Saturn system in 2004.

The mission is scheduled to end in September 2017, when it will make a final plunge into Saturn's atmosphere.
Last month it swooped past the moon at distance of just 30 miles.

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