::Cassini–Huygens
::concepts
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Cassini–Huygens is an unmanned spacecraft sent to the planet Saturn. It is a flagship-class NASA–ESA–ASI robotic spacecraft.<ref name=flagship/> Cassini is the fourth space probe to visit Saturn and the first to enter orbit, and its mission is ongoing as of 2015[update]. It has studied the planet and its many natural satellites since arriving there in 2004.
Development started in the 1980s. Its design includes a Saturn orbiter, and a lander for the moon Titan. The lander, called Huygens, landed on Titan in 2005. The two-part spacecraft is named after astronomers Giovanni Cassini and Christiaan Huygens.
The spacecraft launched on October 15, 1997 aboard a Titan IVB/Centaur and entered orbit around Saturn on July 1, 2004, after an interplanetary voyage that included flybys of Earth, Venus, and Jupiter. On December 25, 2004, Huygens separated from the orbiter and reached Saturn's moon Titan on January 14, 2005. It entered Titan's atmosphere and descended to the surface. It successfully returned data to Earth, using the orbiter as a relay. This was the first landing ever accomplished in the outer Solar System.
Cassini–Huygens sections
Intro Overview Naming Objectives History Spacecraft design Instruments Plutonium power source Telemetry Huygens probe Selected events and discoveries Glossary See also References Further reading External links
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Saturn::cassini Title::titan Mission::first Saturn's::earth Space::probe Huygens::space
{{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||$N=Use mdy dates |date=__DATE__ |$B=
}}{{#invoke:Italic title|main}}
Cassini–Huygens is an unmanned spacecraft sent to the planet Saturn. It is a flagship-class NASA–ESA–ASI robotic spacecraft.<ref name=flagship/> Cassini is the fourth space probe to visit Saturn and the first to enter orbit, and its mission is ongoing as of 2015[update]. It has studied the planet and its many natural satellites since arriving there in 2004.
Development started in the 1980s. Its design includes a Saturn orbiter, and a lander for the moon Titan. The lander, called Huygens, landed on Titan in 2005. The two-part spacecraft is named after astronomers Giovanni Cassini and Christiaan Huygens.
The spacecraft launched on October 15, 1997 aboard a Titan IVB/Centaur and entered orbit around Saturn on July 1, 2004, after an interplanetary voyage that included flybys of Earth, Venus, and Jupiter. On December 25, 2004, Huygens separated from the orbiter and reached Saturn's moon Titan on January 14, 2005. It entered Titan's atmosphere and descended to the surface. It successfully returned data to Earth, using the orbiter as a relay. This was the first landing ever accomplished in the outer Solar System.
Cassini–Huygens sections
Intro Overview Naming Objectives History Spacecraft design Instruments Plutonium power source Telemetry Huygens probe Selected events and discoveries Glossary See also References Further reading External links
| PREVIOUS: Intro | NEXT: Overview |
| << | >> |