Why Is It So Difficult To Get To Saturn?
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Since space exploration began, only four spaceships have managed to reach Saturn. But, only one managed to enter the planet's bowels and reveal what is hidden under its cloud-filled atmosphere. Is it difficult to get to the planet with the giant asteroid rings?
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Being the sixth closest planet to the sun, Saturn is also known for its famous asteroid rings, but despite its fame, few have been the ships that have managed to reach this distant planet.
The Gas Giants
One of the main reasons Saturn is so difficult for our spacecraft or space exploration probes to visit is that it is part of the planets known as "gas giants," which are very far from Earth and the sun.
Any spacecraft destined to visit the outermost planets of the solar system must meet specific requirements that are very difficult to achieve. One such requirement is that the spacecraft must have a nuclear battery that provides it with electrical power for all its data transmission functions. These ships must carry this type of battery instead of the classic solar panels because these planets are too far from the sun; because of this, very little light arrives, and the solar panels fail to provide enough energy for the operation of the ship.
Due to the lack of light, it is necessary to incorporate batteries that work with nuclear thermal energy. Still, the problem with these batteries is that they weigh a lot, which considerably increases the cost of the spaceship, in addition to the fact that the heavier it is, the more fuel is also needed to take it very far, compared to the energy needed by exploration probes that use solar panels.
Gas giants like Saturn are located beyond the asteroid belt; in these regions, the temperatures are very, very low, which is why the ships that are sent to explore these planets must have isolation systems to the low temperatures of the interplanetary medium.
And, of course, one of the most important reasons why it is tough to reach Saturn is that it is 1,300 million kilometers from Earth. To cover this distance, a large amount of energy and fuel is necessary at the time of launch, which is why the probes that have visited Saturn have been supported with the gravitational assistance of Jupiter.
Too far for telescopes
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Credits: Ron Miller, Mark A. Garlick / MarkGarlick.com
Credits: Nasa/Shutterstock/Storyblocks/Elon Musk/SpaceX/ESA/ESO/ Flickr
00:00 Intro
00:40 The Gas Giants
Too far for telescopes
3:42 Missions to Saturn
4:15 Pioneer 11
5:58 Voyager 1 and 2
7:05 Cassini β Huygens
7:30 Titan Exploration
9:58 Exploration of Enceladus
11:38 The end of Saturn's exploration
#insanecuriosity #saturn #thesolarsystem