Space and Astronomy Atlas

How The Universe Works
Missions and Programs

Cassini-Huygens Mission

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A joint NASA, European Space Agency and Italian Space Agency mission combining NASA's Cassini Saturn orbiter with ESA's Huygens probe. Huygens landed on Saturn's moon Titan in January 2005, the first landing achieved in the outer Solar System. The mission concluded in September 2017 with Cassini's deliberate atmospheric entry into Saturn to protect potentially habitable moons from contamination.

Facts
Mission Type
Robotic outer planet orbiter and lander mission 1
Launch Date
1997-10-15 1
End Date
2017-09-15 1
Outcome
Successful; studied the Saturn system for thirteen years and returned the first landing data from the outer Solar System via Huygens, before Cassini's controlled entry into Saturn's atmosphere in September 2017. 1
Cross-Tradition Connections

Associated With

Cassini, Spacecraft

Cassini is the NASA-built Saturn orbiter component of this joint mission.

Titan, Celestial Objects

The Huygens probe landed on Titan in January 2005.

Operated By

Sources
1. Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Wikimedia FoundationCassini-Huygens, Overview section
Quote, Cassini-Huygens, Overview section
NASA's Planetary Science Division Director, Jim Green, described Cassini-Huygens as a 'mission of firsts' that revolutionized human understanding of the Saturn system.
1. Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Wikimedia FoundationCassini-Huygens, lead section
1. Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Wikimedia FoundationOperated By: Italian Space Agency, Cassini-Huygens, lead section; Italian Space Agency, lead section
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