Free Republic

DARMSTADT, Germany - A European space probe landed safely on the surface of Saturn's moon Titan on Friday, a space official said, buoying hopes the mission would produce data that could shed light on the origins of life on Earth. Officials were jubilant as early signals showed the probe powering up for entry, then beginning the 2 1/2-hour parachute descent during which it was to gather information that could shed light on how life arose on Earth. Mission controllers were confident the Huygens probe made a soft landing because it was still transmitting steadily long after it should have landed,...

Saturn's peaceful beauty invites the Cassini spacecraft for a closer look in this natural color view, taken during the spacecraft's approach to the planet. By this point in the approach sequence, Saturn was large enough that two narrow angle camera images were required to capture an end-to-end view of the planet, its delicate rings and several of its icy moons. The composite is made entire from these two images. Moons visible in this mosaic: Epimetheus (116 kilometers, 72 miles across), Pandora (84 kilometers, 52 miles across) and Mimas (398 kilometers, 247 miles across) at left of Saturn; Prometheus (102 kilometers,...

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) - Two decades and $3.3 billion in the making, an international exploration of majestic Saturn begins this month when a spacecraft slips through a gap in the shimmering rings to enter orbit. Culminating a nearly seven-year, 2.2 billion-mile journey through the solar system, the Cassini spacecraft will fire its engine Wednesday night to slow down and allow itself to be captured by Saturn. The maneuver will inaugurate a four-year, 76-orbit tour of the giant planet and some of its 31 known moons, including huge Titan. To scientists, Saturn and its spectacular rings are a model of the...