Cassini (spacecraft)

Cassini–Huygens

Artist's concept of Cassini's orbit insertion around Saturn
Mission type	Cassini: Saturn orbiter Huygens: Titan lander
Operator	Cassini: NASA / JPL Huygens: ESA / ASI
COSPAR ID	1997-061A
SATCAT no.	25008
Website	NASA ESA ASI
Mission duration	Elapsed: 19 years, 259 days from launch 13 years, 0 days at Saturn En route: 6 years, 261 days Prime mission: 4 years Extended missions:  Equinox: 2 years, 62 days  Solstice: 6 years, 205 days  Finale: 4 months, 24 days
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer	Cassini: Jet Propulsion Laboratory Huygens: Alcatel Alenia Space
Launch mass	5,712 kg (12,593 lb)
Dry mass	2,523 kg (5,562 lb)
Power	~885 watts (BOL) ~670 watts (2010) ~663 watts (EOM/2017)
Start of mission
Launch date	October 15, 1997, 08:43:00 (1997-10-15UTC08:43) UTC
Rocket	Titan IV(401)B B-33
Launch site	Cape Canaveral SLC-40
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Kronocentric
Flyby of Venus (Gravity assist)
Closest approach	April 26, 1998
Distance	283 km (176 mi)
Flyby of Venus (Gravity assist)
Closest approach	June 24, 1999
Distance	6,052 km (3,761 mi)
Flyby of Earth-Moon system (Gravity assist)
Closest approach	August 18, 1999, 03:28 UTC
Distance	1,171 km (728 mi)
Flyby of 2685 Masursky (Incidental)
Closest approach	January 23, 2000
Distance	1,600,000 km (990,000 mi)
Flyby of Jupiter (Gravity assist)
Closest approach	December 30, 2000
Distance	9,852,924 km (6,122,323 mi)
Saturn orbiter
Orbital insertion	July 1, 2004, 02:48 UTC
Titan lander
Spacecraft component	Huygens
Landing date	January 14, 2005
Flagship Program ← Galileo Mars Science Laboratory →

External image

Raw images from the Huygens probe descent on 14 January 2005 (37 Pages) © ESA/NASA/JPL/U. of Arizona. (ESA hosting)

Cassini–Huygens (/ˌkəˈsini ˈhɔɪˌɡəns/) is an unmanned spacecraft sent to the planet Saturn. It is a Flagship-class NASA–ESA–ASI robotic spacecraft.Cassini is the fourth space probe to visit Saturn and the first to enter orbit. It has studied the planet and its many natural satellites since arriving there in 2004.

Development of Cassini began in the 1980s. Its design includes a Saturn orbiter (Cassini) and a lander (Huygens) for the moon Titan. The two spacecraft are named after astronomers Giovanni Cassini and Christiaan Huygens. The spacecraft was launched on October 15, 1997, aboard a Titan IVB/Centaur and entered orbit around Saturn on July 1, 2004, after an interplanetary voyage that included flybys of Earth, Venus, and Jupiter. On December 25, 2004, Huygens separated from the orbiter, and it landed on Saturn's moon Titan on January 14, 2005. It successfully returned data to Earth, using the orbiter as a relay. This was the first landing ever accomplished in the outer Solar System.