Cassini-Huygens Mission Overview and Recent Science Results

Abstract

The Cassini-Huygens Project is an international science mission to the Saturnian system. Three space agencies and 17 nations contributed to building the Cassini spacecraft and Huygens probe. The Cassini orbiter is managed and operated by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The Huygens probe was built and operated by the European Space Agency. The prime mission design for Cassini-Huygens calls for a four-year orbital survey of Saturn, its rings, magnetosphere, and satellites, and the descent into Titan's atmosphere by the Huygens probe. The Cassini orbiter tour consists of 76 orbits around Saturn with 45 close Titan flybys and 8 targeted icy satellite flybys. The Cassini orbiter spacecraft carries twelve scientific instruments that perform a wide range of observations on a multitude of designated targets. The Huygens probe carried six additional instruments that provided in situ and remote sensing of the atmosphere and surface of Titan. Now over three years into the prime mission, the Cassini orbiter continues to study the Saturnian system, returning a wealth of knowledge for present and future generations of scientists. This paper provides an overview of the Cassini- Huygens mission and highlights selected science results.