Cassini−Huygens

Cassini–Huygens
An artist's concept of Cassini
Organization:	NASA/ESA/ASI
Mission type:	Fly-by, orbiter, and lander
Flyby of:	Jupiter, Venus, Earth, Saturn's moons
Satellite of:	Saturn
Launch date:	October 15 1997
Launch vehicle:	Titan IV-B/Centaur launch vehicle
NSSDC ID:	1997-061A
Webpage:	Cassini–Huygens Home

Cassini–Huygens is a robotic spacecraft mission made together by NASA/ESA/ASI, that is now studying the planet Saturn and its moons. The spacecraft has two main parts: the NASA Cassini orbiter, named after the Italian-French astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini, and the ESA Huygens probe, named after the Dutch astronomer, mathematician, and physicist Christiaan Huygens. It was launched on October 15, 1997 and entered into orbit around Saturn on July 1, 2004. On December 25 2004 the Huygens probe separated from the orbiter at more or less 02:00 UTC. The probe landed on Saturn's moon Titan on January 14, 2005, where it descended and started sending information for the scientists to study. It is the first spacecraft to orbit Saturn and the fourth spacecraft to visit Saturn.

Other websites

• Cassini-Huygens Main Page at NASA
• Cassini Mission Homepage by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• Cassini-Huygens Mission Profile by NASA's Solar System Exploration
• Cassini Imaging Homepage
• Cassini information by the National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC).
• Photo Gallery - full coverage
• Cassini's Tour de Saturn part A, B, C, D, E, F – descriptions of the 4-year tour of Saturn by Bruce Moomaw
• SpaceflightNow news coverage of the mission
• Countdown to Cancel the Cassini Space Probe by the Baltimore Peace Network in 1997 due to concerns over the use of plutonium
• Spacecraft Cassini is Visiting Saturn! — children's stories explaining the Cassini mission