One of the most detailed plans so far is the so-called Titan Mare Explorer (TiME), which had originally been proposed as a separate scout mission, but might eventually be postponed and included in the TSSM.

The plutonium-powered craft's principal function is to sample and analyze organics on the surface for a period of about 3 to 6 months; this would be the first floating exploration of an extraterrestrial sea.

In addition to the primary mission, TiME could be equipped with a suite of advanced instruments to study the chemical composition and physical properties of Titan's lakes.

This includes a spectrometer to analyze the liquid hydrocarbons, a sonar to map the lakebed, and a weather station to monitor Titan's unique meteorological conditions.

Furthermore, mission planners are considering the inclusion of a submersible probe that could be deployed from TiME to explore beneath the surface of Ligeia Mare, providing unprecedented insights into the potential for prebiotic chemistry in Titan's seas.

The major goals of the TSSM mission can be summarized under four categories: At Titan, the science goals would be to provide information on such aspects as the composition of the surface and the geographic distribution of the various organic constituents; on the methane cycle and the methane reservoirs; on the ages of the surface features, and in particular on whether cryovolcanism and tectonism are actively ongoing or are relics of a more active past; on the presence or absence of ammonia, of a magnetic field and of a sub-surface ocean; on the chemistry that drives complex ion formation in the upper atmosphere; and on a large altitude range in the atmosphere, from 400–900 km, which remains poorly explored after Cassini.

Moreover, an interior ocean discovered by Cassini, deep underneath Titan's dense atmosphere and surface is thought to be largely composed of liquid water.

TSSM would be the first mission in the 50 years of space exploration where an extensive and interdisciplinary in situ survey of active organic chemistry and climate on the land, on the sea, and in the air of another world will take place.