Launched in 1997, the Cassini-Huygens mission is a seven-year project that will reach Saturn in June 2004. Upon arrival Cassini will begin four years of data gathering on Saturn and nine of its twenty known moons. In November 2004 the probe Huygens will be released and descend to the surface of Titan, Saturn's largest moon. Some scientists view this as a way to travel back in time because Titan is predicted to be under the same conditions as Earth was before life began. During the 2 1/2 hour descent, data will be gathered on the chemicals contained in Titan's atmosphere, as well as the environmental conditions on the moon, and transmitted back to Earth. Most importantly, scientists will get the first glimpse of the surface with the pictures taken during the descent. This data could possibly change all theories about the origin of life.
A Journey to Unseen Territory
In four years a whole new range of possibilities will open up in the search for the origin of life. This will occur when the spacecraft Cassini reaches Saturn. After a few months of orbiting the planet and relaying pictures back to Earth, Cassini will release the probe Huygens. Huygens is scheduled to land on Titan, Saturn's largest moon, in November of 2004. After years of planning, this seven-year journey will come to a climax during the three hours of data that the Huygens probe will gather. The data found on Titan will either change or confirm every theory scientists have about the origin of life.
Most people can easily identify a picture of Saturn. This is thanks to the Voyager mission, the spacecraft that passed Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus during the early 80's and took many pictures of Saturn and some of its moons; these pictures are easily available for everyone to see. There is just one problem: not everything is visible from a fly-by mission. While the Voyager was able to get pictures of Titan, the haze of Titan's atmosphere clouded any possible view of the surface. This haze intrigued many scientists who believe that Titan could be under the same conditions as the Earth was before signs of life. Enter Huygens, the probe that scientists are hoping will gather valuable information about the atmosphere of Titan as well as take pictures of the surface.
Cassini and Huygens?
Christiaan Huygens was a Dutch scientist who developed techniques to improve lenses used in telescopes. In 1655, Huygens discovered Titan and categorized Saturn's rings (Mirsky 42). Using these improved techniques, in 1675, Italian astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini discovered four other moons as well as a gap in Saturn's rings known as the Cassini division (Coledan 60). Both of these men helped increase our knowledge of Saturn and have successfully aroused our interest in the topic. Thus, it is only fitting to name the spacecraft and probe that will be going to Saturn after these two men.
