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Article Images
Christiaan Huygens: Discoverer of Titan
 
24 September 2003

Christiaan Huygens
ESA's probe on board the NASA/ESA/ASI spacecraft Cassini is named after the Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens, who discovered Titan in 1655.
 
 
Saturn's rings contain ice and dust
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The ring swirling around Saturn consists of chunks of ice and dust. Saturn itself is made of ammonia ice and methane gas. The little dark spot on Saturn is the shadow from Saturn's moon Enceladus.

Credits: Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI/NASA)
 
 
Huygens probe is mated with the Cassini orbiter
The Huygens probe is integrated with the Cassini Saturn orbiter in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The completed spacecraft left the PHSF on 28 August 1997 and was mated with its Titan 4B/Centaur launch vehicle on Cape Canaveral's pad 40.

Credits: ESA
 
 
At Saturn and TitanViews on approach to Saturn
More about...
Cassini-Huygens factsheet
Related ESA publications
Titan: From Discovery to Encounter
Related articles
No rest on the way to the most mysterious of Saturn's moonsSplashing down on Titan's oceansChallenges of landing on alien worldsESA to search for life, but not as we know itJean-Dominique Cassini: Astrology to astronomy
Related links
NASA JPL Cassini-Huygens siteItalian Space Agency (ASI)
 
 
 
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