Humanity has an inherent drive for superior understanding of our Solar system and to find environment similar to that of planet Earth which could contain life. As consequence, there have been several space missions to analyse climate, assess data and search for geological evidences of life.
With net expenditure of approximately three billion dollars, the Cassini-Huygens space mission to Saturn system was a joint assignment among finest space agencies; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Italian Space Agency/Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI). The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft was named after two celebrated scientists for their early contributions in understanding Saturn, a planet which we …show more content…
Before successfully orbiting and landing on Saturn, Cassini-Huygens mission had to go through several hurdles. Firstly, due to sheer size and weight of the spacecraft, there was no present launch vehicle which could assist in transporting it straight to Saturn as it weighed close to five thousand six hundred kilograms when fully fuelled. However, on 15th of October 1997, from Cape Canaveral Florida, fuelled by thirty three kilograms of plutonium Cassini-Huygens was aided in launching through the Earth’s orbit and into an interplanetary trajectory by Titan-IVB/Centaur (ESA, 2015). Parts of the spacecraft were powered through different ways where Cassini was fuelled through the radioactive decay of plutonium where heat was converted into electrical energy and Huygens used chemical reactions in batteries when landing on Titan. In order to safely move through the celestial objects and to save on fuel, Cassini-Huygens used gravitational pull different planets before reaching enough speed to enter Saturn’s orbit. The use of gravitational pull to gain required momentum and direction is called gravity assist manoeuvre where the spacecraft “borrows” the energy of revolving planet. There have been four gravity assist manoeuvres made before entering Saturn’s orbit on 1st of July 2004, …show more content…
Firstly, the landing of Huygens probe itself plays a momentous meaning as this was the furthest and the first time spacecraft had landed in the outer Solar System (ESA, 2015). Due to its thick atmosphere and presence of clouds
Titan was discovered with features which were close to Earth (Piazza, n.d.). Information from Huygens showed that Titan’s atmosphere also contained organic substances like methane and nitrogen which are produced when living organism go through metabolism. Due to significantly freezing temperature of around less than hundred and eight degrees Celsius, some scientist believed that the moon cannot support any possibility of life. However, recent discovery of water beneath the layer of ice by Cassini, shows similarity between Titan and Earth (Brown & Cook, 2012) and suggests a possibility where in the future, when Sun will become large enough to raise the temperature of Titian’s atmosphere, it could led to production of second Earth(Millis,
With net expenditure of approximately three billion dollars, the Cassini-Huygens space mission to Saturn system was a joint assignment among finest space agencies; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Italian Space Agency/Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI). The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft was named after two celebrated scientists for their early contributions in understanding Saturn, a planet which we …show more content…
Before successfully orbiting and landing on Saturn, Cassini-Huygens mission had to go through several hurdles. Firstly, due to sheer size and weight of the spacecraft, there was no present launch vehicle which could assist in transporting it straight to Saturn as it weighed close to five thousand six hundred kilograms when fully fuelled. However, on 15th of October 1997, from Cape Canaveral Florida, fuelled by thirty three kilograms of plutonium Cassini-Huygens was aided in launching through the Earth’s orbit and into an interplanetary trajectory by Titan-IVB/Centaur (ESA, 2015). Parts of the spacecraft were powered through different ways where Cassini was fuelled through the radioactive decay of plutonium where heat was converted into electrical energy and Huygens used chemical reactions in batteries when landing on Titan. In order to safely move through the celestial objects and to save on fuel, Cassini-Huygens used gravitational pull different planets before reaching enough speed to enter Saturn’s orbit. The use of gravitational pull to gain required momentum and direction is called gravity assist manoeuvre where the spacecraft “borrows” the energy of revolving planet. There have been four gravity assist manoeuvres made before entering Saturn’s orbit on 1st of July 2004, …show more content…
Firstly, the landing of Huygens probe itself plays a momentous meaning as this was the furthest and the first time spacecraft had landed in the outer Solar System (ESA, 2015). Due to its thick atmosphere and presence of clouds
Titan was discovered with features which were close to Earth (Piazza, n.d.). Information from Huygens showed that Titan’s atmosphere also contained organic substances like methane and nitrogen which are produced when living organism go through metabolism. Due to significantly freezing temperature of around less than hundred and eight degrees Celsius, some scientist believed that the moon cannot support any possibility of life. However, recent discovery of water beneath the layer of ice by Cassini, shows similarity between Titan and Earth (Brown & Cook, 2012) and suggests a possibility where in the future, when Sun will become large enough to raise the temperature of Titian’s atmosphere, it could led to production of second Earth(Millis,