Titan Mare Explorer

TiME

Mission Profile

Titan Mare Explorer (TiME) was a proposed NASA Discovery-class mission concept for a floating probe that would spend three years drifting across Ligeia Mare — one of Titan's largest methane seas — measuring the sea's chemistry, currents, and depth while studying organic chemical reactions that may mirror the prebiotic chemistry of early Earth. Proposed around 2013 and evaluated as a finalist in the Discovery selection that chose InSight instead, TiME would have been powered by a Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator to survive Titan's extreme cold and darkness. While not selected, TiME inspired continuing scientific interest in Titan surface exploration and contributed to community discussions that eventually produced the TSSM and Dragonfly mission concepts.