January, 2005
Deep Space Missions
 47k JPEG Artists concept courtesy of NASA |
Launched in 1997, the Cassini spacecraft achieved orbit of Saturn on July 1, 2004. Six months later it released a scientific probe named Huygens to study Titan, Saturn's largest moon. Huygens landed on Titan’s surface on January 14, 2005. Cassini will remain in orbit around Saturn for a total of four years to study the planet and its rings and moons. | ||
 45k JPEG Image courtesy of Pat Rawlings/NASA |
Launched January 12, 2005, Deep Impact will be the first spacecraft to study the interior of a comet. It will encounter its target, Comet Tempel 1, on July 4, 2005. Deep Impact will use an "impactor" spacecraft to excavate a small crater on the comet’s surface. Deep Impact will observe and record the impact, the material ejected from the crater, and the structure and composition of the crater's interior. The data collected during the mission may help us to better understand the formation of our solar system. | ||
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The Huygens probe landed on the surface of Saturn's moon Titan on January 14, 2005. The image on the left is a composite created using images of Titan's surface taken by Huygens before landing. The image on the right was
taken by the probe after it landed. Images courtesy of European Space Agency/NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory/University of Arizona |
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