Solar System Tour Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Cassini
Cassini mission
Launch vehicle Titan IV-Centaur
Launch date 1997 October

15

Object(s) Earth (showing image)
Moon (close-up images)
Venus
Jupiter
Saturn
Mimas
Enceladus
Tethys
Dione
Rhea
Titan
Hyperion
Iapetus
Phoebe


Cassini consists of delivering a probe (called Huygens, provided by ESA) to Titan, and then remaining in orbit around Saturn for detailed studies of the planet and its rings and satellites. The principal objectives are to: (1) determine the three-dimensional structure and dynamical behavior of the rings; (2) determine the composition of the satellite surfaces and the geological history of each object; (3) determine the nature and origin of the dark material on Iapetus' leading hemisphere; (4) measure the three-dimensional structure and dynamical behavior of the magnetosphere; (5) study the dynamical behavior of Saturn's atmosphere at cloud level; (6) study the time variability of Titan's clouds and hazes; and, (7) characterize Titan's surface on a regional scale.

Advertisement