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04/06/2004
Saturn orbiter mission makes final approach
The international Cassini-Huygens spacecraft is on final approach to Saturn in a multi-agency mission that includes British involvement that will see the probe commence a four-year tour of Saturn, its rings and moons.
After a 2.2 billion-mile journey lasting seven years, the 5.6 tonne Cassini probe, the largest man-made object ever sent to another planet, is scheduled to enter orbit around Saturn on June 30 this year. But on June 11, Cassini - which has already returned the most detailed-ever pictures of Saturn - will have a close encounter with an object in the Saturn system; a 2000km fly-by of a small moon of Saturn called Phoebe.
One of Saturn's 31 known moons, Phoebe is thought to be a captured object, probably originating from a region known as the Kuiper Belt. In a retrograde orbit and of atypical appearance, the small moon with a diameter of 220km is about one-fifteenth the size of Earth's moon and scientists are keen to see the object close-up.
Launched on October 15 1997, the £2 billion mission has 12 instruments on the Cassini orbiter and six more on the Huygens probe, representing the best technical efforts of 260 scientists from the US and 17 European nations. The Cassini-Huygens mission will study Saturn's rings, magnetosphere and moons - in particular Titan, the planet's largest moon.
For the critical Saturn orbit insertion manoeuvre, the spacecraft will fire its main engine for 96 minutes to reduce Cassini's speed and allow it to be captured as a satellite of Saturn. If all proceeds according to plan Cassini will pass through a gap between two of Saturn's rings and swing close to the planet to begin the first of 76 orbits around the Saturn system.
The sixth planet from the sun, Saturn is the second largest planet in the solar system. A study of the dynamics and interactions among Saturn's elaborate rings and numerous moons is expected to provide valuable data to aide understanding of how the solar system's planets evolved.
The study of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, is one of the major goals of the mission. Cassini will execute 45 flybys of Titan, the closest at approximately 590 miles above the surface. This will permit high-resolution mapping of the moon's surface with an imaging radar, which can peer through the opaque haze of Titan's upper atmosphere.
Cassini will release the wok-shaped Huygens probe on its 20-day journey toward its encounter with Titan on December 25 2004.
At a press conference yesterday lead scientist for the surface science module of the Huygens' probe, John Zarnecki, said that the mission was "far and away the most distant controlled descent ever attempted".
(SP)
After a 2.2 billion-mile journey lasting seven years, the 5.6 tonne Cassini probe, the largest man-made object ever sent to another planet, is scheduled to enter orbit around Saturn on June 30 this year. But on June 11, Cassini - which has already returned the most detailed-ever pictures of Saturn - will have a close encounter with an object in the Saturn system; a 2000km fly-by of a small moon of Saturn called Phoebe.
One of Saturn's 31 known moons, Phoebe is thought to be a captured object, probably originating from a region known as the Kuiper Belt. In a retrograde orbit and of atypical appearance, the small moon with a diameter of 220km is about one-fifteenth the size of Earth's moon and scientists are keen to see the object close-up.
Launched on October 15 1997, the £2 billion mission has 12 instruments on the Cassini orbiter and six more on the Huygens probe, representing the best technical efforts of 260 scientists from the US and 17 European nations. The Cassini-Huygens mission will study Saturn's rings, magnetosphere and moons - in particular Titan, the planet's largest moon.
For the critical Saturn orbit insertion manoeuvre, the spacecraft will fire its main engine for 96 minutes to reduce Cassini's speed and allow it to be captured as a satellite of Saturn. If all proceeds according to plan Cassini will pass through a gap between two of Saturn's rings and swing close to the planet to begin the first of 76 orbits around the Saturn system.
The sixth planet from the sun, Saturn is the second largest planet in the solar system. A study of the dynamics and interactions among Saturn's elaborate rings and numerous moons is expected to provide valuable data to aide understanding of how the solar system's planets evolved.
The study of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, is one of the major goals of the mission. Cassini will execute 45 flybys of Titan, the closest at approximately 590 miles above the surface. This will permit high-resolution mapping of the moon's surface with an imaging radar, which can peer through the opaque haze of Titan's upper atmosphere.
Cassini will release the wok-shaped Huygens probe on its 20-day journey toward its encounter with Titan on December 25 2004.
At a press conference yesterday lead scientist for the surface science module of the Huygens' probe, John Zarnecki, said that the mission was "far and away the most distant controlled descent ever attempted".
(SP)
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14 January 2005
European joy as Huygens probe lands on Titan
The European-built Huygens probe has successfully landed on Titan, penetrating the thick, orange-coloured clouds that have until now prevented scientists observing details of the moon's surface. The first scientific data to reach Earth arrived at the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Germany at around 16:30 GMT today.
European joy as Huygens probe lands on Titan
The European-built Huygens probe has successfully landed on Titan, penetrating the thick, orange-coloured clouds that have until now prevented scientists observing details of the moon's surface. The first scientific data to reach Earth arrived at the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Germany at around 16:30 GMT today.
08 April 2005
European Space Agency recommends Mars return
European space scientists have strongly recommended a mission equipped with a planetary rover as the next scientific mission to Mars as part of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Aurora programme of planetary exploration. The mission would conduct a detailed analysis of the Martian environment and search for traces of past or present life.
European Space Agency recommends Mars return
European space scientists have strongly recommended a mission equipped with a planetary rover as the next scientific mission to Mars as part of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Aurora programme of planetary exploration. The mission would conduct a detailed analysis of the Martian environment and search for traces of past or present life.
11 July 2003
Hubble maps 13-billion-year-old planet
The oldest planet ever discovered in the universe – a 13-billion-year-old Jupiter-sized planet orbiting a sun-like star 5,600 light years away – has been mapped by Nasa's Hubble Space Telescope. However, it is "very improbable" that the planet ever hosted life.
Hubble maps 13-billion-year-old planet
The oldest planet ever discovered in the universe – a 13-billion-year-old Jupiter-sized planet orbiting a sun-like star 5,600 light years away – has been mapped by Nasa's Hubble Space Telescope. However, it is "very improbable" that the planet ever hosted life.
13 January 2005
European space probe closes for encounter with Titan
On Christmas Day 2004 NASA's Cassini spacecraft, currently in orbit above Saturn, flawlessly released the European Space Agency's 2.7m-wide, 319kg Huygens probe, sending the craft on a 22-day trip towards Titan, the ringed planet's largest moon.
European space probe closes for encounter with Titan
On Christmas Day 2004 NASA's Cassini spacecraft, currently in orbit above Saturn, flawlessly released the European Space Agency's 2.7m-wide, 319kg Huygens probe, sending the craft on a 22-day trip towards Titan, the ringed planet's largest moon.
23 September 2011
NATO's Libya 'Mission' Set To Continue
Hours after the PM, David Cameron used his first speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York to tell world leaders that the uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East have "provided a huge opportunity to spread peace, prosperity, democracy and security", it has emerged that the alliance's NATO mission to protect the people of Libya
NATO's Libya 'Mission' Set To Continue
Hours after the PM, David Cameron used his first speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York to tell world leaders that the uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East have "provided a huge opportunity to spread peace, prosperity, democracy and security", it has emerged that the alliance's NATO mission to protect the people of Libya
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