The Cassini Mission

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The Cassini spacecraft was launched on October 15, 1997 on a 7 year journey to investigate Saturn, its rings, and its moons. The spacecraft consists of an orbiter and the Huygens Titan probe. The probe will be deployed from the Cassini spacecraft and is scheduled to arrive at the moon Titan in December of 2004. The probe will enter the clouds of Titan and begin gathering atmospheric data as it parachutes to the surface. Further experiments will continue when the probe reaches Titan's surface. Meanwhile, the Cassini craft will orbit Saturn gathering imagery and other data from the planet and its many moons.


On the fifth anniversary of its launch, Cassini had travelled 3.1 billion kilometers and was over 1 billion kilometers from Earth.

NASA estimates that hundreds of thousands of images of Saturn, its rings, and its moons will be returned by the Cassini orbiter and Titan probe.

For More Information on The Cassini Mission:

Saturn Facts || View From Earth || Pioneer at Saturn || Voyager at Saturn
Rings || Atmosphere || Magnetic Field || Moons of Saturn || Future Exploration
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