Figure: Technicians fit Huygens to Cassini before starting tests

Cassini-Huygens is one of the most ambitious missions ever launched into space. Loaded with an array of powerful instruments and cameras, the spacecraft is capable of taking accurate measurements and detailed images in a variety of atmospheric conditions and light spectra. Two elements comprise the spacecraft: The Cassini orbiter and the Huygens probe. In 2004, Cassini-Huygens is scheduled to reach Saturn and its moons. There the spacecraft will orbit around the system for four years; beaming home valuable data that will help us understand the vast Saturnian region. Huygens will enter the murky atmosphere of Titan, Saturn's biggest moon, and eventually descend via parachute onto its mysterious surface. The Huygens probe will send its measurements and images to Cassini, which will then beam them back to Earth.

Cassini-Huygens is a three-axis stabilized spacecraft equipped for 27 diverse science investigations. The Cassini orbiter has 12 instruments and the Huygens probe has six. The instruments often have multiple functions, equipped to thoroughly investigate all the important elements that the Saturn system may uncover. The spacecraft communicates through one high-gain and two-low gain antennas. It is only in the event of a power failure or other such emergency situation however, that the spacecraft will communicate through one of its low-gain antennas, known as LGA-1.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Italian Space Agency (ASI).

Credit: ESA, NASA and ASI

Mission description and original image at: http://cirs.gsfc.nasa.gov/mission_description.htm