Cassini–Huygens

Cassini-Huygens (/ksini hnz/ k-SEE-nee HOY-gnz), also known as Cassini, was a NASA,
European Space Agency (ESA), and Italian Space Agency (ASI) space-research mission to send
a space probe to explore Saturn and its system, including its rings and natural satellites. The
Flagship-class robotic spacecraft included NASA's Cassini space probe and the European Space
Agency's Huygens lander, which landed on Saturn's largest moon, Titan. Cassini was the fourth
spacecraft to visit Saturn and the first to enter its orbit, which it occupied from 2004 to 2017. The
two ships were named after the astronomers Giovanni Cassini and Christiaan Huygens.

Cassini was launched aboard a Titan IVB/Centaur on October 15, 1997, and spent over 20 years
in space, 13 of which were spent orbiting Saturn and researching the planet and its system after
entering orbit on July 1, 2004. Venus (April 1998 and July 1999), Earth (August 1999), the
asteroid 2685 Mazursky, and Jupiter were all visited during the route to Saturn (December 2000).
Cassini's mission terminated on September 15, 2017, when its trajectory led it into Saturn's upper
atmosphere, where it burnt up[10][11] to avoid contaminating Saturn's moons, which may have
provided livable habitats for stowaway terrestrial bacteria on the spacecraft. The mission
exceeded expectations, and NASA's Planetary Science Division Director, Jim Green, called
Cassini-Huygens a "mission of firsts." that has transformed human understanding of the Saturn
system, including its moons and rings, as well as our notion of where life might exist in the Solar
System.

Cassini's mission was originally planned to last four years, from June 2004 to May 2008. The
Cassini Equinox Mission was extended for another two years, to September 2010. The Cassini
Solstice Mission extended the mission for a second and final time, lasting seven years until
September 15, 2017, when Cassini was de-orbited and burned up in Saturn's upper atmosphere.

The Huygens module was attached to Cassini until December 25, 2004, when it separated from
the probe; Huygens landed on Titan via parachute on January 14, 2005. The SED (Spin/Eject
device) aided the separation by providing a relative separation speed of 0.35 meters per second
(1.1 ft/s) and a spin rate of 7.5 rpm. It used the orbiter as a relay to send data back to Earth for
about 90 minutes. This was the first landing in the outer Solar System, as well as the first landing
on a moon other than Earth's Moon.

The Cassini spacecraft completed its mission with a "Grand Finale" of perilous trips through the
gaps between Saturn and its inner rings. This phase aimed to maximize Cassini's scientific output
before the spacecraft was intentionally destroyed to avoid potential contamination of Saturn's
moons if Cassini were to unintentionally crash into them when manoeuvring the probe became
impossible due to power loss or other communication issues near the end of its operational
lifespan. Cassini's atmospheric entry stopped the mission, but data analysis will continue for
several years.