Titan: The rover boat that could explore Saturn's moon

Mars may grab all the headlines, but the Red Planet isn't the only Earth-like body in our solar system.

Saturn's moon Titan has long sparked the interest of scientists because its surface is covered in lakes, and rivers — which are filled with liquid methane.

Now, a group of engineers have submitted their plans for a new kind of rover — a floating space boat to rival NASA's Curiosity.

The Titan Lake In-situ Sampling Propelled Explorer, or TALISE, would succeed the ESA's Huygens probe, which touched down on Titan in 2005 after a seven-year journey.

TALISE would weigh about 100 kilograms (220.5 lbs), and would be equipped with an assortment of scientific instruments including a magnetometer, a panoramic camera, an acoustic sounder and a Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) system.

It would move across the surface of the liquid hydrocarbons using either smooth wheels, paddle wheels, or screw drives – all three systems are currently being considered.

Earlier ideas that were ultimately rejected included tank tracks, above- and below-surface propellers, and a hovercraft design.

After landing, TALISE will explore and collect data from the liquid methane makeup of the lakes found on the moon's surface.

SENER, a private aerospace company, is working in collaboration with Spain's Centro de Astrobiologia to develop a propulsion system that would allow TALISE to navigate on both land and sea, using a combination of wheels and paddles.