2004: The Cassini orbiter releases the Huygens probe to begin its descent to Titan, Saturn’s largest moon.
The Cassini-Huygens mission, an international effort involving NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency, represents the first thorough survey of Saturn and Titan. The Huygens probe (named for Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens, Titan’s discoverer) was designed by the ESA to take atmospheric measurements during its descent through Titan’s dense cloud cover.
Huygens was also equipped with cameras, to photograph the moon’s topography as it broke through the clouds.
The probe reached Titan’s surface on Jan. 14, 2005, plopping down unceremoniously in a muddy patch. Despite the sloppy ground the landing was flawless, smoother in fact than mission control anticipated. The soft landing allowed Huygens to transmit physical data from the moon’s surface, which mission specialists considered a bonus.
The Cassini spacecraft, assembled at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, had entered orbit around Saturn in June 2004. It continues sending back information as part of a projected four-year mission. Most recently, observations from Cassini suggest that the planet’s rings are far older than originally believed.