Background

The project, funded by ASI under the coordination of INAF (Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale), involved Italian research groups active in data analysis from Cassini-Huygens probe, orbiting around Saturn and its system.

Purpose

The objective of the project is to characterize the surface of Titan, the largest Saturn’s satellite. The data from Cassini Radar, operating as SAR, scatterometer, altimeter and radiometer, are used to obtain a complete description of physical and morphological properties Titan’s surface.

Methods

Use of electromagnetic models and Bayesian statistics inversion algorithms to estimate physical-morphological surface parameters.

Results

Observation, physical and morphological characterization oh hydrocarbon lakes, with retrieval of bathymetric maps. Observation allowed planetary scientists to characterize a cycle similar to hydrological cycle on Earth, where water is substituted by a mixture of hydrocarbons (particularly methane). Moreover, dune-like structures, deriving from Aeolian transport of organic granules, were observed and characterized.

Products

Scientific publications