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Missions and Programs

Cassini-Huygens Mission

Robotic Outer Solar System and Small-Body Missions

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
Mission Type
Mission Type (category)
Orbiter 1
Mission Type (category)
Lander / Rover 1
Mission Type (category)
Robotic / Uncrewed Mission 1
Connections

Associated With

Cassini, Spacecraft

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

Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Additional Source Wikipedia: Cassini-HuygensCassini-Huygens, Overview section
Enceladus, Celestial Objects
Source Cassini-Huygens - NASA Science
Saturn, Celestial Objects
Source Cassini-Huygens - NASA Science
Titan, Celestial Objects

The Huygens probe landed on Titan in January 2005.

Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Additional Source Wikipedia: Titan (moon)Cassini-Huygens, Overview section

Operated By

European Space Agency, Space Agencies and Companies
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Additional Source Cassini (Wikipedia)Cassini-Huygens, lead section
Italian Space Agency, Space Agencies and Companies

ASI contributed the high-gain antenna and radar instruments to the Cassini orbiter.

Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Additional Source Cassini (Wikipedia)Cassini-Huygens, lead section; Italian Space Agency, lead section
NASA, Space Agencies and Companies
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Additional Source Cassini (Wikipedia)Cassini-Huygens, lead section
Sources
1. Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Wikimedia Foundation
Cassini-Huygens (Wikipedia)
  • Lead section
    The mission was successful beyond expectations - NASA's Planetary Science Division Director, Jim Green, described Cassini-Huygens as a "mission of firsts" that revolutionized human understanding of the Saturn system, including its moons and rings, and our understanding of where life might be found in the Solar System.
  • Cassini-Huygens, lead section
View the Source
Cassini-Huygens - NASA Science
  • Associated With: Saturn, Mission to Saturn section
    Cassini was a sophisticated robotic spacecraft sent to study Saturn and its complex system of rings and moons in unprecedented detail.
  • Associated With: Enceladus, Science at Saturn section, Enceladus image caption
    Dramatic plumes, both large and small, spray water ice and vapor from many locations along the famed 'tiger stripes' near the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus.
View the Source
Cassini (Wikipedia)
  • Operated By: NASA, Cassini-Huygens, lead section
  • Operated By: European Space Agency, Cassini-Huygens, lead section
  • Operated By: Italian Space Agency, Cassini-Huygens, lead section; Italian Space Agency, lead section
View the Source
Wikipedia: Cassini-Huygens
Associated With: Cassini, Cassini-Huygens, Overview sectionView the Source
Wikipedia: Titan (moon)
Associated With: Titan, Cassini-Huygens, Overview sectionView the Source
Wikipedia - Huygens (spacecraft)
Includes: Huygens, Wikipedia: Cassini-Huygens, lead sectionView the Source
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