After a seven-year journey involving three space agencies and seventeen nations, the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft has arrived at Saturn, snapping stunning close-up images of the planet's rings like the image above. A nearly flawless engine burn put Cassini in the gas giant's orbit, setting the stage for a four-year tour to study the planet, its rings
After a seven-year journey involving three space agencies and seventeen nations, the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft has arrived at Saturn, snapping stunning close-up images of the planet’s rings like the image above. A nearly flawless engine burn put Cassini in the gas giant’s orbit, setting the stage for a four-year tour to study the planet, its rings, its moons, and its magnetosphere.
Another mission milestone comes in six months, when the European Space Agency’s Huygens probe separates from Cassini and descends into the atmosphere of the moon Titan. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency.Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute