Cassini-Huygens

© EADS Astrium

The planetary mission Cassini/Huygens – conducted by European and US scientists – has revealed new information on what the world looked like four million years ago. Cassini/Huygens is currently exploring the atmosphere of the enormous Saturnian moon Titan, the only moon in the solar system which has an atmosphere believed to be quite similar to the primeval atmosphere of the Earth.

The spacecraft tandem was launched in October 1997 and reached the Saturnian system in June 2004. The mission is named after the two astronomers Jean Cassini and Christian Huygens. The Huygens probe plunged into the Titan atmosphere to examine its dynamic processes and composition on 14 January 2005. The Cassini orbiter will continue its mission until 2008.

Cassini-Huygens is a joint European-US project. The Saturn orbiter Cassini was built in the USA, whereas the Huygens probe was developed and built on behalf of ESA by a European consortium. Astrium Germany was responsible for developing integration and testing the entire Hyugens probe, as well as provision for the internal thermal control subsystem. Astrium France designed and manufactured the Huygens heat shield and aft thermal protection system, including aerodynamic specification, trajectory calculations and the probe's parachute braking system. Astrium Spain delivered the probe's internal structure, wiring and test models.