Cassini
 Cassini
The goal of a joint NASA/ESA mission Cassini is to
extensively study the Saturn system and its largest
moon Titan. The mission was launched on October 15,
1997 and after gravity-assist flybys of Venus, Earth,
and Jupiter (correspondingly on April 26 and June 24,
1999, August 18, 1999, and December 30, 2000) it will
arrive at Saturn on August 1, 2004 to become its satellite.
In January 2005 a HUYGENS probe will be dropped from
the satellite to settle on Titan's surface. SRC participates
in the mission.
 The
revision of the timetable for Huygens plunge into Titan
After engineers last year identified a design flaw
in the probe's communications system, the flight plans
of the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft had to be modified
so that none of the unique Huygens data would be lost
during its descent to Titan's surface. In the new plans,
the Cassini spacecraft will release Huygens towards
Titan around Christmas Day 2004. After a 21-day cruise,
the probe will plunge into the thick atmosphere of Titan
and parachute onto its icy surface on 14 January 2005,
seven weeks later than originally planned.
(Extract from ESA Science News, 16 October 2001)
Huygens passes communications test
The purpose of the test is to validate the revised Cassini-Huygens
mission plan, in particular the new parameters of the
telecommunications link between the Probe and the Orbiter.
After five days of extensive tests, engineers and scientists
on both sides of the Atlantic are confident that ESA's
Huygens Probe will be able to fulfil its exciting mission
to explore Saturn's giant satellite, Titan. The tests,
which took place 16-21 November 2001, were required
to check out all important communications link between
Huygens and NASA's Cassini spacecraft. This communications
link, which will be used to send back the first images
and in situ data from the mysterious, smog-covered moon,
is the key to the success of the Huygens mission. If
the scientific bonanza from Huygens is to be realised,
it is imperative that the radio signal between the Probe
and Cassini remains unbroken during the descent through
Titan's dense atmosphere.
(Extract from ESA Science News, 27 November 2001)
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