• A special unmanned aircraft similar to the drones used by CIA in Pakistan and Afghanistan has been built to fly over Saturn's largest moon Titan and help scientists build up a picture of the planet's geology. 

  • The USD 715-million Aviatr probe, which weighs just 120kg, has been designed to take 3D photos of the surface of Titan that has fascinated scientists because of its thick, cloudy atmosphere. 

  • At the end of the mission, plutonium-powered craft would dive down to surface and attempt a landing on Titan's dunes,

  • The moon is thickly shrouded in clouds,

  •  Titan is bigger than the Earth's Moon and even the planet Mercury. The temperature at Titan's surface is about -178 degrees centigrade. 

  • The Aviatr, designed by a team of scientists led by Jason Barnes at University of Idaho, would be much nimbler than a balloon and would use its plutonium-powered generator to stay on the "day" side of Titan to make the most of its photographing time.
 
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