ESA Science & Technology - Cassini-Huygens
Fact Sheet
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a NASA/ESA/ASI mission to explore the Saturnian system. The ESA component consists largely of the Huygens probe, which entered the atmosphere of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, and descended under parachute down to the surface. The Cassini spacecraft is undertaking an extensive exploration of the Saturnian system with its rings and many satellites. Cassini completed its initial four-year mission to explore the Saturn System in June 2008 and the first extended mission, called the 'Cassini Equinox Mission', in September 2010. A second extended mission, called the 'Cassini Solstice Mission' was completed September 2017; this allowed scientists to study the Saturnian system until the summer solstice is passed in May 2017. After covering one half of a Saturnian year since its arrival at the system, Cassini concluded its mission by plunging into the gas planet's atmosphere.
News
News
Craters reveal Titan is still a dynamic world
29 October 2020
Using data from the international Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn and Titan, scientists have found that there are two distinct types of craters on Saturn's largest moon Titan that are still being shaped by erosion.
Huygens landing spin mystery solved
14 January 2020
Fifteen years ago today, ESA's Huygens probe made history when it descended to the surface of Saturn's moon Titan and became the first probe to successfully land on another world in the outer Solar System. However, during its descent, the probe began spinning the wrong way – and recent tests now reveal why.
Cassini finds soluble organic compounds in ocean-world Enceladus
2 October 2019
Scientists analysing data from the Cassini mission have found evidence of light, soluble and reactive organic molecules in the ice grains ejected by Saturn's icy moon Enceladus, providing another important piece of evidence to investigate its potential habitability.
Cassini explores ring-like formations around Titan's lakes
17 July 2019Using observations from the international Cassini spacecraft, scientists have explored the ring-like mounds that wrap around some of the pools found at the poles of Saturn's largest moon, Titan. The study reveals more about how these features formed.
Dust storms on Titan spotted by Cassini for the first time
24 September 2018Data from the international Cassini spacecraft that explored Saturn and its moons between 2004 and 2017 has revealed what appear to be giant dust storms in equatorial regions of Titan.
Featured Articles
Featured Articles
Huygens: the top 10 discoveries at Titan
14 January 2015On 14 January 2005, at 13:34 CET (12:34 UTC), ESA's Huygens probe entered the history books by descending to the surface of Titan, Saturn's largest moon. This was humanity's first successful attempt to land a probe on another world in the outer Solar System.
The Rocket Science Blog - updates from Cassini
The Rocket Science Blog - updates from Cassini
Reflections at the end of Cassini
14 September 2017On 25 December 2004, after a seven-year journey as part of the international NASA/ESA/ASI Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn, ESA's Huygens lander separated from NASA's Cassini orbiter to make a lonely, one-way voyage to Titan, Saturn's largest moon.
Ground stations go dancing with Cassini
15 July 2017A complex coordinated 'dance' between ESA and NASA tracking stations is following Cassini during its Grand Finale. May, June and July have been busy months, as a series of complex ground-station tracking passes involving ESA's Deep Space Antennas (DSA) and NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) captured a series of Grand Finale radio science passes.
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Cassini Completes Final – and Fateful – Titan Flyby
24 April 2017NASA's Cassini spacecraft has had its last close brush with Saturn's hazy moon Titan and is now beginning its final set of 22 orbits around the ringed planet.
Huygens: 'Ground Truth' from An Alien Moon
2005 Historic Descent to Titan Revisited
11 January 2017After a two-and-a-half-hour descent, the metallic, saucer-shaped spacecraft came to rest with a thud on a dark floodplain covered in cobbles of water ice, in temperatures hundreds of degrees below freezing.
SwRI-led researchers study methane-rich plumes from Saturn's icy moon Enceladus
12 March 2015NASA's Cassini spacecraft has measured a curious abundance of methane spewing into the atmosphere of Saturn's icy moon Enceladus. A team of American and French scientists published findings in Geophysical Research Letters suggesting two scenarios that could explain the methane abundance observed in the plumes.
Cassini Catches Titan Naked in the Solar Wind
29 January 2015Researchers studying data from NASA's Cassini mission have observed that Saturn's largest moon, Titan, behaves much like Venus, Mars or a comet when exposed to the raw power of the solar wind.
NASA and ESA Celebrate 10 Years Since Titan Landing
14 January 2015Ten years ago, an explorer from Earth parachuted into the haze of an alien moon toward an uncertain fate. After a gentle descent lasting more than two hours, it landed with a thud on a frigid floodplain, surrounded by icy cobblestones.
