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Huygens (/ ˈ h ɔɪ ɡ ən z / HOY-gənz) was an atmospheric entry robotic space probe that landed successfully on Saturn's moon Titan in 2005. Built and operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), launched by NASA, it was part of the Cassini–Huygens mission and became the first spacecraft to land on Titan and the farthest landing from Earth a spacecraft has ever made. [3]
The SOHO (ESA & NASA) joint project implies that all materials created by its probe are copyrighted and require permission for commercial non-educational use. [2] Images featured on the Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) web site may be copyrighted.
Titan is similar to the very early Earth and can provide clues to how life may have arisen on Earth. In 2005, the European Space Agency's Huygens lander acquired some atmospheric and surface measurements on Titan, detecting tholins, [32] which are a mix of various types of hydrocarbons (organic compounds) in the atmosphere and on the surface.
On November 29, 2016, the spacecraft performed a Titan flyby that took it to the gateway of F-ring orbits: This was the start of the Grand Finale phase culminating in its impact with the planet. [123] [124] A final Titan flyby on April 22, 2017, changed the orbit again to fly through the gap between Saturn and its inner ring days later on April 26.
Spacecraft Origin Manufacturer Altitude Launch system Crew size Length (m) Diameter (m) Launch mass (kg) Power system Generated power (W) Recovery method First spaceflight § Last spaceflight Flights § SpaceShipOne USA: Scaled Composites: 112 km X Prize: White Knight Hybrid Motor: 1: 8.53 8.05 3,600 Batteries Runway landing 2004: 2004: 3 [note ...
Profile of Titan's atmosphere compared to Earth's. Titan is thought to be a prebiotic environment rich in complex organic compounds, [65] [138] but its surface is in a deep freeze at −179 °C (−290.2 °F; 94.1 K) so it is currently understood that life cannot exist on the moon's frigid surface. [139]
Ligeia Mare is the large body below the pole, and Punga Mare at half its size is just left of the pole. White areas have not been imaged. Lakes of liquid ethane and methane exist on the surface of Titan, Saturn's largest moon. This was confirmed by the Cassini–Huygens space probe, as had been suspected since the 1980s. [2]
Spacecraft may change mass over time such as by use of propellant. During the Shuttle– Mir program between 1994 and 1998, the complex formed by the docking of a visiting Space Shuttle with Mir would temporarily make it heaviest artificial object in orbit with a combined mass of 250 tonnes (250 long tons ; 280 short tons ) in a 1995 configuration.