Descent to Titan
Explanation:
Today's descent to the
surface of Titan by the European Space
Agency's
Huygens probe is the most distant landing ever
attempted by a spacecraft from Earth.
At 10:13
UT
(5:13am EST, 11:13 CET),
Huygens is scheduled
to enter the atmosphere of Saturn's
large
mystery moon at an altitude of 180 kilometers.
If all goes as planned, Huygens will then begin deploying
a series
of parachutes
which will control its descent through
Titan's dense atmosphere, allowing the probe to reach the
surface in about 2 hours.
Huygens' landing point is indicated by a yellow dot in
this
near-infrared image from the
Cassini spacecraft ... but it is not known if a solid or liquid
surface
awaits it.
The outermost of the
nested
octagons is about 1,120 kilometers across.
The outlines are labeled by altitude and indicate
anticipated areas of coverage by Huygens' imaging
instruments during the descent.
Go Huygens!
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
