RADIATIVE EMISSION FROM THE SIMULATED SHOCK LAYER OF THE HUYGENS PROBE

An investigation has been conducted to determine the effect of nonequi librium how on the shock-layer radiation and radiative heat flux to th e surface of the Huygens probe. The Huygens probe will enter the Titan atmosphere at a speed of 6 km/s in the spring of 2003. The shock-tube facility at Stanford University was used to generate high-temperature gas behind strong shocks advancing into a simulated Titan atmosphere. Conditions behind the shock approximate those in the Huygens forebody shock layer. Spectroscopic techniques have been used to measure therm ophysical quantities of the high-temperature gas. A numerical code has been developed using a three-temperature model to generate one-dimens ional flowfield solutions for comparison with these data. Agreement be tween the two methods has led to further confidence in the predicted r adiative heat transfer magnitude in the probe stagnation region.