Posted on 12/24/2004 8:32:20 PM PST by ProudVet77
The Associated Press Updated: 11:07 p.m. ET Dec. 24, 2004The Cassini spacecraft launched a probe Friday on a three-week free-fall toward Saturn’s mysterious moon Titan, where it will plunge into the hazy atmosphere and descend by parachute while its science instruments and cameras make observations. The European Space Agency’s Huygens probe is equipped with instruments to sample the chemistry of Titan’s thick atmosphere, and may reveal whether the surface actually has lakes or seas of liquid methane and ethane that have been theorized by scientists.
A signal confirming release of the probe was received at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory at 7:24 p.m. PST. The actual event occurred earlier, but it took more than an hour for radio signals to cross the hundreds of millions of miles between Saturn and Earth.
• Best of Cassini The Cassini spacecraft is sending back unprecedented imagery of Saturn, its rings and its moons. Click "Launch" to see some of the greatest hits from the Cassini mission.
Huygens is scheduled to hit Titan’s atmosphere on Jan. 14 and open a huge parachute that will allow it to make a 2½-hour descent while radioing findings back to the mother ship. After touching down at 15 mph, it may continue sending data for up to 30 minutes, when either its battery fails or Cassini vanishes over Titan’s horizon.
Cassini will later turn its antenna toward Earth and send the data home.
Cassini was equipped with springs to gently push the 705-pound probe away at a rate of one foot per second and impart a stabilizing spin of seven revolutions per minute. The aim had to be good because Huygens has no maneuvering system to adjust its own course.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
I predict the same happens again with Huygens. It will disappear and never be heard from again. Exploration is best left to the descendants of the world's greatest explorers who now populate North America.
The great explorers from North America did all the aiming. Hopefully it goes better for Europe this time. Godspeed ESA.
You could be right. This craft seems to have no way to adjust it's trajectory to Titan. It won't wake up till 3 or 4 hours before entering the atmosphere. Sort of like throwing a dart.
Coolness PING
"A Christmas preasent for humanity."
Yes, it is.
Merry Christmas.
"Exploration is best left to the descendants of the world's greatest explorers who now populate North America."
Who themselves are of European descendants.
Merry Christmas.
Yes but the brave and daring explorers left their progeny in the new world. The weeny-spined cowards who stayed home, well they left their descendants back in Europe. It really explains a lot when you think about it.
It explains that America was founded for European progeny.
It explains that Europeans are our elder brothers.
And it explains that we are an extention of Europe.
The only conclusion I can come up with as to why you hate Europe and Europeans is that you are not of our progeny. Either that or you don't have a mind of your own and just follow the anti European crowd in lockstep. Actually there is another possibility, but I refrain myself from telling as certian things are better said face-to-face.
Most of the US physics depts. in the US is populated with Asian grad students. I went to a presentation by the lead scientist of the NEAR spacecraft, and he was asian too. NEAR stands for Near earth asteroid rendezvous which orbited the asteroid Eros.
I'm not much of a fan of "Old Europe", but I too say: Godspeed, Huygens. Expand our knowledge of a truly unique object in our solar system, the only satellite with a thick atmosphere. Thanks to the Europeans for creating you, and thanks to NASA for the wonderful (and so far tremendously successful) Cassini mission.
I predict the same happens again with Huygens. It will disappear and never be heard from again. Exploration is best left to the descendants of the world's greatest explorers who now populate North America.
Yer such a doomtalker, Dan! Merry Christmas, pally..............FRegards
Well said.
I don't. I have a great respect for the ESA.
Thanks for the ping. :-)
On the bright side, it's a pretty damned big target...
Lakes, schakes, I'm hoping for the probe to find aliens.
Just a curious question: I have not formed an opinion of ESA at this point, but I'd like to know what you think of NASA'S integrity, specifically in regard to the recent Mars Rover Missions.
I am not following exactly what you are looking for here. Could you clarify further?
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