Cassini - Huygens

This mission consisted in launching a SpaceCraft (Cassini, created by NASA) and one probe attached to it (Huygens, created by ESA). The spacecraft had to fly by Saturn and one of its satellites, Titan. The Cassini-Huygens was launched in 1997, and in 2004, they reached Titan. There, the probe Huygens was launched from the Cassini to the Titans surface.

The landing system was based on a parachute, because in Titan the atmosphere is really dense, composed of mostly nitrogen, but there is also methane and many other organic compounds. In the moon for example, this landing system would not be suitable, due to the no existence of atmosphere.

There are many aspects to comment about that mission, that will be surely topics on following posts. But the most amazing one is this video:

Well, the Voice-over explains all that you must know to enjoy that video. I simply add one thing. The images of the descendant are a reconstruction, a put together of data from the Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer. Those data where only about 12 Megabytes, limited by the temporal radio link with the Cassini Spacecraft. And with only that amount of data, the produced that sequence of video! (Compared with a single Picture taken with a digital camera, 900KB for example, 12 MBytes allows only 13 Pictures)

About the Cassini, it is now orbiting around Saturn. Since 2004, when the Huygens was launched, Cassini will complete in 4 years 74 orbits of the Saturn, 44 close flybys of the hazy moon Titan, and numerous flybys of Saturn's other icy moons.

One picture in true color of Saturn, simply cool! True color means that is a real picture, taken with a camera, wich has a sensibility equal to the human eye. That means that this is how you would see Saturn if you were inside the Cassini Spacecraft.