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HUYGENS
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The Cassini/Huygens mission consists of spacecraft Cassini, built and
devolped by NASA and the Huygens probe, planned by ESA
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Characteristics
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| Launch Date |
15 October 1997 |
| Launcher |
Titan IV–B33 |
| Launch Site |
Kennedy Space Center |
| Journey |
3.2 billion kilometers |
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Titanic Journey
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Cassini-Huygens is one of the most ambitious missions ever launched into space.
Loaded with an array of powerful instruments and cameras, the spacecraft is capable
of taking accurate measurements and detailed images in a variety of atmospheric
conditions and light spectra.
Two elements comprise the spacecraft: The Cassini orbiter and the Huygens probe.
In 2004, Cassini-Huygens is scheduled to reach Saturn and its moons. There the spacecraft
will orbit around the system for four years; beaming home valuable data that will help us
understand the vast Saturnian region. Huygens will enter the murky atmosphere of Titan,
Saturn's biggest moon, and eventually descend via parachute onto its mysterious surface.
The Huygens probe will send its measurements and images to Cassini, which will then beam them back to Earth.
Cassini-Huygens is a three-axis stabilized spacecraft equipped for 27 diverse science investigations.
The Cassini orbiter has 12 instruments and the Huygens probe has six. The instruments often have
multiple functions, equipped to thoroughly investigate all the important elements that the Saturn system may uncover. The spacecraft communicates through one high-gain and two-low gain antennas. It is only in the event of a power failure or other such emergency situation however, that the spacecraft will communicate through one of its low-gain antennas, known as LGA-1.
Three Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators - commonly referred to as RTGs - provide
power for the spacecraft, including the instruments, computers, and radio transmitters on
board, attitude thrusters, and reaction wheels.
In some ways, the Cassini spacecraft has senses better than our own. For example,
Cassini can "see" in wavelengths of light and energy that the human eye cannot.
The instruments on the spacecraft can "feel" things about magnetic fields and tiny
dust particles that no human hand could detect.
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| ©Copyright 2004 LSE Space Engineering & Operations AG |
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