Titan Saturn System Mission

TSSM

Mission Profile

Titan Saturn System Mission (TSSM) was a proposed NASA/ESA flagship mission concept studied around 2009 to conduct comprehensive exploration of Saturn's moon Titan and its ocean moon Enceladus, building on discoveries made by Cassini-Huygens. The mission architecture included a Saturn orbiter, a Titan hot-air balloon (montgolfière) that would drift through the atmosphere for six months, and a Titan lake lander to study the chemistry of its hydrocarbon seas. TSSM competed with the Europa Jupiter System Mission (EJSM) for selection as the next Outer Planets Flagship mission but was ultimately not chosen, with ESA instead prioritizing the JUICE Europa mission. The TSSM concept later evolved into the Dragonfly rotorcraft mission selected for the New Frontiers program.