| NASA Center: |
Kennedy Space Center |
|---|
| Image # : |
KSC-97PC-1018 |
|---|
| Date : |
07/02/1997
|
|---|
|
Title
Preparations for adding Cassini's propulsion module
Full Description
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) technicians clean and prepare
the upper equipment module for mating with the nuclear
propulsion module subsystem of the Cassini orbiter in the
Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at KSC. A close-up study
of Saturn and its moons, the Cassini/Huygens mission launched
from Cape Canaveral Air Station in October 1997 and reached the
Saturnian system in July 2004 for four years of observation.
Scientific instruments carried aboard the Cassini orbiter were
designed to study Saturn's atmosphere, magnetic field, rings,
and several moons, while the Huygens probe was designed to
separate and land on the surface of Titan, Saturn's largest
moon.
The Cassini-Huygens mission owes its name to the Dutch
astronomer Christiaan Huygens and Italian astronomer Giovanni
Domenico Cassini. Both had spectacular careers as observers of
the heavens, which included important discoveries about Saturn
and its satellites. Huygens (1629-1695) discovered Saturn's
largest moon, Titan, in 1655 and in 1656 described the shape and
phase changes of Saturn's rings. Cassini (1625-1712) was the
first to observe four of Saturn's moons, Iapetus, Rhea, Tethys,
and Dione, in the 1670s and 1680s. He also, in 1675, discovered
the gap in Saturn's rings, now called the Cassini Division, and
proposed that the rings were formed from many tiny particles.
Cassini-Huygens is a joint mission of NASA, the European Space
Agency (ESA), and the Italian Space Agency, Agenzia Spaziale
Italiana (ASI). JPL is managing the Cassini project for NASA.
The mission was proposed in November 1982 by a group of European
and American scientists from the European Science Foundation and
the National Academy of Sciences. The Solar System Exploration
Committee of the NASA Advisory Council endorsed the idea in
April 1983, and NASA and ESA began a joint assessment study in
1984. ESA officially adopted the project in November 1988, and
Congress approved funding for NASA's portion of the mission in
FY 89.
Keywords
Cassini deep space probes planetary Saturn Huygens KSC JPL
nuclear
Subject Category
Space Probes, Rocket Propulsion, Planet-Saturn
Reference Numbers
- Center:
KSC
- Center Number:
KSC-97PC-1018
- GRIN DataBase Number:
GPN-2004-00029
Source Information
- Creator/Photographer: NASA
- Original Source: Digital
| Resolution | Format | Width
(Pixels) | Height
(Pixels) | Size
(KBytes) |
Thumbnail |
JPEG |
57 |
86 |
10 |
Small |
JPEG |
407 |
609 |
252 |
Medium |
JPEG |
954 |
1428 |
1,349 |
Large |
JPEG |
1907 |
2856 |
5,728 |
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Updated October 31, 2002
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