May 2 2005
Launched from Kennedy Space Center on Oct. 15, 1997, the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft reached Saturn in July 2004. The mission is composed of two elements: The Cassini orbiter that will orbit Saturn and its moons for four years, and the Huygens probe that will dive into the murky atmosphere of Titan and land on its surface. The sophisticated instruments onboard these spacecraft will provide scientists with vital data to help understand this mysterious, vast region. Cassini-Huygens is an international collaboration between three space agencies. Seventeen nations contributed to building the spacecraft. The Cassini orbiter was built and managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The Huygens probe was built by the European Space Agency. The Italian Space agency provided Cassini's high-gain communication antenna. More than 250 scientists worldwide will study the data collected.
Below is a sampling of the fascinating Saturn pictures sent back by the Cassini-Huygens Mission:
- Cassini Uncovers Two New Saturn Moons
It's a new moon... No, I don't mean the phase of our moon, Luna, I mean a real new moon. Actually, there are 2 newly discovered moons orbiting that ringed planet, Saturn. With eyes sharper than any that have peered at Saturn before, the Cassini spacecraft has uncovered two moons, which may be the smallest bodies so far seen around the ringed planet. - Saturn South Polar Structure
Saturn's southern polar region exhibits concentric rings of clouds which encircle a dark spot at the pole. To the north and toward the right, wavy patterns are evident, resulting from the atmosphere moving with different speeds at different latitudes. - Entering the Magnetic Bubble
This graph illustrates the Cassini spacecraft's transition into Saturn's magnetosphere from an outer region called the magnetosheath. A magnetosphere is a magnetic envelope of charged particles that surrounds some planets, including Earth. In between it and a boundary called the bow shock -- where solar winds bend to avoid the magnetosphere -- is an area called the magnetosheath. - Entering Saturn's Magnetosphere with a Boom
This graph illustrates the series of sonic booms that took place when the Cassini spacecraft crossed Saturn's bow shock. A bow shock is a shock wave located where incoming solar wind meets a planet's magnetosphere, or magnetic bubble. Differences in electrical charges cause the solar wind to curve around the magnetosphere in the same way that air flows around a supersonic airplane. - Frigid Ringworld
A frigid ball of gas in the blackness of space, Cassini's new home, Saturn, appears cool and serene in this natural color image. The spacecraft obtained this view as it sped outward from the planet on its initial orbit. At the left, Saturn's shadow stretches almost completely across the rings, while at the right, the planet's illuminated face appears to gaze down at the far-off Sun.
- Many More Cassini-Huygens Mission Pictures Coming Very Soon!
