NASA's Cassini Huygens Mission To Saturn Explained!
In this article, you will learn about NASA's Cassini Huygens mission to Saturn, which completely changed our perception of the Saturn planet. Through NASA's Voyager 1, Voyager 2, and Pioneer 11, which made the first flyby around Saturn, Saturn is also referred to as the most beautiful planet in our solar system. These missions provided us with unique information about the planet's atmosphere, surface, and the largest moon in our solar system, Titan. All this information and shocking facts made scientists more curious to do research on it. Scientists tried their best to study Saturn from the Earth, but at the end they came to know that they needed a separate space mission to Saturn to know more about Saturn's formation, evolution, and moons. That's why NASA launched its Cassini Huygens mission to Saturn. It's discoveries will blow your mind, and you'll be shocked to know the number of moons Saturn has!
 |
| Cassini Huygens Mission |
Contents:
- Importance of Study of Saturn
- Cassini Huygens Mission of NASA
- Top Discoveries of Cassini Huygens
- Summary and FAQ
Importance of Study of Saturn
The distance of Saturn from the Sun is around 142.66 crore kilometers. It is the sixth planet from the Sun. The specialty of Saturn is its rings, which can be easily seen. These rings are made up of gaseous dust and ice. The rings extend 1,20,700 kilometers from Saturn. The thickness of these rings is only 20 meters. Their number is more than 30. Like Jupiter, it is a gaseous planet. It has no solid surface, and its surface is flat.
It is mainly composed of 96% hydrogen and 3% helium. The core of Saturn is made of nickel, iron, and hydrogen. Apart from hydrogen and helium, crystals of methane and ammonia have also been found in the atmosphere of Saturn. The upper atmosphere is surrounded by clouds of ammonia ice. The lower layer of clouds is made of water, sulfur, and hydrogen ice.
The density of this planet is the lowest among all the planets in our solar system. The density is so low that if Saturn is put in water, it will start floating. This means that the density of Saturn is less than that of water. The volume of the Saturn Planet is so large that 763 Earths can fit in it. Due to its large size, it is the second-largest planet in the Solar System. 10. A single day on Saturn is only 10 hours and 34 minutes long. Due to the fast rotation of Saturn on its axis, it is a slightly flat planet. This planet takes 30 Earth years to complete one revolution around the sun. 12. This planet also has moons like the Earth. Saturn has not 1, not even 2, not even 10, not even 20, but 62 satellites. Saturn has an important place in the astrology of different religions.
The density of this planet is the lowest among all the planets in our solar system. The density is so low that if Saturn is put in water, it will start floating. This means that the density of Saturn is less than that of water. The volume of the Saturn Planet is so large that 763 Earths can fit in it. Due to its large size, it is the second-largest planet in the Solar System. 10. A single day on Saturn is only 10 hours and 34 minutes long. Due to the fast rotation of Saturn on its axis, it is a slightly flat planet. This planet takes 30 Earth years to complete one revolution around the sun. 12. This planet also has moons like the Earth. Saturn has not 1, not even 2, not even 10, not even 20, but 62 satellites. Saturn has an important place in the astrology of different religions.
Cassini Huygens Mission of NASA
In 1982, the European Science Foundation and the American National Academy of Sciences established a Working Group to explore the possibilities of joint space missions between both agencies in the future. Then some scientists present in this group suggested a paired Saturn Orbiter and Titan Probe under the Joint Mission. Both the space agencies liked this idea very much, after which they started a joint study regarding such a possible mission, which continued until 1986.
And finally, in 1988, work on this mission officially started. It was going to be a joint space mission between the American Space Agency, NASA, and the European Space Agency. NASA was working on a nuclear-powered orbiter capable of studying Saturn and its moons. The same European Space Agency was working on a probe capable of studying and landing on Saturn's largest moon, Titan.
Also Read: Voyager Space Missions of NASA Explained!
The Cassini mission is known as the most complex mission of that time, the main reason for which was its very complex design. This spacecraft had a total of 1,630 interconnected electronic components, 22,000 wire connections, and 14 kilometers of cables. Cassini Orbiter was a spacecraft about 7 meters long and 4 meters wide, whose total weight was 2,150 kilograms. There were a total of 12 scientific instruments in this spacecraft, whose main objective was to study the atmosphere, composition, rings, and moons of Saturn. The European Space Agency's Huygens Probe was three meters wide and weighed about 320 kilograms. There were a total of six scientific instruments present in it, whose main objective was to study the atmosphere, composition, hydrocarbon lakes, and surface of the Titan.
To power this giant spacecraft, it contained about 38 kilograms of Plutonium 238. The system present in it was used to convert the heat released after the decay of radioactive material into electricity, which provided power to all its instruments. Chemical batteries were also present in the Huygens Probe, which were installed to power it after separation from Cassini. During its development, both the space agencies had to face many problems, sometimes regarding its price tag of 3.3 billion dollars and sometimes regarding its nuclear fuel. But finally, in 1997, this spacecraft was ready for launch. Finally, Cassini Huygens was launched on October 15, 1997. After a long journey of about 7 years and a lot of gravity assistance, Cassini Spacecraft entered the orbit of Saturn in July 2004. With which it also became the first spacecraft to orbit Saturn. As soon as Saturn entered orbit, its primary scientific mission also started.
Also Read: Voyager Space Missions of NASA Explained!
The Cassini mission is known as the most complex mission of that time, the main reason for which was its very complex design. This spacecraft had a total of 1,630 interconnected electronic components, 22,000 wire connections, and 14 kilometers of cables. Cassini Orbiter was a spacecraft about 7 meters long and 4 meters wide, whose total weight was 2,150 kilograms. There were a total of 12 scientific instruments in this spacecraft, whose main objective was to study the atmosphere, composition, rings, and moons of Saturn. The European Space Agency's Huygens Probe was three meters wide and weighed about 320 kilograms. There were a total of six scientific instruments present in it, whose main objective was to study the atmosphere, composition, hydrocarbon lakes, and surface of the Titan.
To power this giant spacecraft, it contained about 38 kilograms of Plutonium 238. The system present in it was used to convert the heat released after the decay of radioactive material into electricity, which provided power to all its instruments. Chemical batteries were also present in the Huygens Probe, which were installed to power it after separation from Cassini. During its development, both the space agencies had to face many problems, sometimes regarding its price tag of 3.3 billion dollars and sometimes regarding its nuclear fuel. But finally, in 1997, this spacecraft was ready for launch. Finally, Cassini Huygens was launched on October 15, 1997. After a long journey of about 7 years and a lot of gravity assistance, Cassini Spacecraft entered the orbit of Saturn in July 2004. With which it also became the first spacecraft to orbit Saturn. As soon as Saturn entered orbit, its primary scientific mission also started.
Top Discoveries of Cassini Huygens
- The Cassini spacecraft found that Saturn's moon Titan has methane in its atmosphere and that Enceladus has a liquid ocean with vapors of gas and water erupting.
- It is noteworthy that earlier in 2005, NASA's Cassini Saturn Orbiter discovered water particles in space from the "Tiger Stripe" fracture near the south pole of Enceladus.
- An international research team has used new statistical methods to understand whether methanogens, or methane production, can be produced by microbes. With this, molecular hydrogen and methane can be explained.
- A paper published in Nature Astronomy concluded that unknown methane-production processes may occur on Enceladus.
- Most of the methane on Earth comes from biological sources. Microorganisms called methanogens are capable of producing methane as a metabolic byproduct. These microorganisms do not require oxygen to live and are found widely in nature.
- They are found in swamps, dead organic matter, and even in human intestines. These organisms are well known for their ability to survive at high temperatures.
- Simulation studies have shown that these organisms can live in the difficult conditions present on Mars. Methanogens have been carefully studied to understand whether these organisms may be contributors to global warming.
Summary and FAQ
We have given complete information about one of the most challenging and amazing missions performed by humans. Scientists are keeping up their research on Saturn and other planets to learn about their atmosphere, surface, evolution, and most important life possibilities. Now you've learned a lot about Cassini Huygens mission for NASA and Europe. Here are some questions that could arise in your mind:What was the purpose of Cassini Huygen's mission?
The main purpose of Cassini Huygens mission was to study the weather changes, atmosphere, and moons of Saturn.
What fuel did Cassini use?
Plutonium
What is Saturn made of?
Saturn is made up of hydrogen and helium.
How did Cassini end?
It made a plunge into the atmosphere of Saturn
What was the first mission to Saturn?
Scientists got the first information about the Saturn planet from the Pioneer 11 spacecraft.
