Earth receiving data on Titan's secrets

**Donger** · 01-14-2005, 01:10 PM

For the space geeks among us...

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/space/0...tan/index.html

(CNN) -- Huygens successfully transmitted its first packet of irreplaceable data from Saturn's moon Titan this morning as scientists at the European Space Agency's operations center in Germany erupted in applause.

"We are the first visitors to Titan and the scientific data we are collecting now shall unveil the secrets of this new world," said Jean-Jacques Dordain, director general for ESA, in Darmstadt, Germany.

He called it a fantastic success for Europe and the spirit of international collaboration that brought together 19 nations, including the United States for the Cassini-Huygens mission.

Huygens' batteries -- designed to last just a few minutes after touchdown -- continued to power the probe's transmitter for more than two hours after landing. The data is now streaming to Earth, via the satellite Cassini orbiting Saturn, as a worldwide network of radio telescopes captures it.

Eager scientists, some who have dedicated 25 years to the project, are poring over the data, translating ones and zeros into images and measurements of the moon's atmosphere. The first pictures of Titan's surface will be released by ESA about 2:45 ET.

"This data is for posterity," said David Southwood, director of science for ESA. "It's for mankind....Scientists are going to argue as we piece together our place in the universe, of how we came to be. It's just the beginning for our science teams."

Earlier in the day, radio telescopes confirmed the probe survived reentry, successfully deployed its three parachutes and landed on the moon's icy surface. Cassini received information until it passed beyond the moon's horizon and out of contact. Now Cassini has turned toward Earth and is sending the data to scientists.

They hope all the data will survive transmission uncorrupted, said Bob Mitchell, program manager for the Cassini-Huygens mission at NASA.

"What we know is the probe survived reentry.... descended the atmosphere, contacted the surface and transmitted for at least an hour and half," he said. "What we don't know is how did the instruments work, how did Cassini work and do we have the data intact."

Huygens reached the surface of Saturn's moon Titan on Friday around 7:45 ET, reported elated scientists from the European Space Agency, standing ready to analyze long-awaited data from the cloud-shrouded moon.

"We have a signal. We know that Huygens is alive meaning the dream is alive," said Jean-Jacques Dordain director general for ESA which designed Huygens. "This is already an engineering success and we will see, later this afternoon, if this is a scientific success."

The saucer-shaped probe has completed the final hours of its 2.2 billion-mile mission to Titan, an enormous moon larger than the planet Pluto.

"It's going to be the most exotic place we've ever seen," said Candice Hansen, a scientist for the Cassini-Huygens mission. "We've never landed on the surface of an icy satellite. We know from our pictures that there are very different kinds of geological processes."

The Cassini-Huygens mission is an unprecedented $3.3-billion effort between NASA, the European Space Agency, which designed the probe, and Italy's space program to study Saturn and its 33 known moons. The two vehicles were launched together from Florida in 1997.

"The mission is to explore the entire Saturnian system in considerably greater detail than we have ever been able to do before: the atmosphere, the internal structure, the satellites, the rings, the magnetosphere," said Cassini program manager Bob Mitchell at NASA.

The Huygens probe, about the size of a Volkswagen Beetle, spun silently toward Titan after it detached from the Cassini spacecraft on December 24. Cassini will remain in orbit around Saturn until at least July 2008.

The mission "will probably help answer some of the big questions that NASA has in general about origins and where we came from and where life came from," Mitchell said.

Titan's atmosphere, a murky mix of nitrogen, methane and argon, resembles Earth's more than 3.8 billion years ago. Scientists think the moon may shed light on how life began.

Finding living organisms, however, is a remote possibility. "It is not out of the question, but it is certainly not the first place I would look," Hansen said. "It's really very cold." A lack of sunlight has put Titan into a deep-freeze. Temperatures hover around -292 F (-180 C) making liquid water scarce and hindering chemical reactions needed for organic life.

New discoveries
The mysteries of Saturn, the sixth planet from the sun, have always enticed researchers. Scientists are perplexed why Saturn, a gas-giant composed primarily of hydrogen and helium, releases more energy than it absorbs from faint sunlight. Titan is also the only moon in the solar system to retain a substantial atmosphere, one even thicker than Earth's.

The 703-pound, battery-powered Huygens probe parachuted through Titan's clouds of methane and nitrogen for two-and-a-half hours, sampling gases and capturing panoramic pictures along the way.

Huygens hit the upper atmosphere 789 miles (1,270 km) above the moon at a speed of about 13,700 mph (22,000 km/h). A series of three parachutes slowed the craft to just 15 mph (24 km/h). Chutes and special insulation protected Huygens from temperature swings and violent air currents. Strong winds -- in excess of 311 mph (500 km/h) -- buffeted the craft.

Its sensors deduced wind speed, atmospheric pressure and the conductivity of Titan's air. Methane clouds and possibly hydrocarbon rain was analyzed by an onboard gas chromatograph. A microphone listened for thunder.

Three rotating cameras took panoramic views of the moon and a radar altimeter mapped Titan's topography. A special lamp illuminated the probe's landing spot to help determine the surface composition.

Engineers had been confident that Huygens and its suite of six sensitive instruments would survive the descent.

"From an engineering standpoint, I'm very confident in a positive outcome," said Shaun Standley, an ESA systems engineer for Huygens at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. "We've been over this again and again for the last three years fine-tuning this."

Cassini crossed Saturn's rings without mishap in June 2004 and produced the most revealing photos yet of the rings and massive gas-giant. A problem with the design of an antennae on Cassini almost scrapped Huygens' mission, but engineers altered the spacecrafts' flight plans to resolve the transmission problem.

|Zach| · 01-14-2005, 01:18 PM

Cool story...thanks for the heads up.

**Bearcat** · 01-14-2005, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donger

The saucer-shaped probe has completed the final hours of its 2.2 billion-mile mission to Titan, an enormous moon larger than the planet Pluto.

That's a pretty big number.... they should put it in prespective... something we can all relate to. Say something like "that's like traveling around the earth 88,000 times".

Hydrae · 01-14-2005, 02:01 PM

That is so cool that it landed succesfully! I am recording the show tonight on the Science channel so I can check it out when I get home from work tonight.

I wonder how long those batteries will last in that -180 degree weather.

Miles · 01-14-2005, 02:03 PM

Wonder if that Tralfamadorian robot is still there?

**Dave Lane** · 01-14-2005, 02:10 PM

Cool can't wait to see the pics from this.

Dave

**Lzen** · 01-14-2005, 02:12 PM

That is awesome. I can't wait to see the images.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hydrae

I wonder how long those batteries will last in that -180 degree weather.

I would imagine this has something to do with the temperature.

Quote:

Huygens' batteries -- designed to last just a few minutes after touchdown -- continued to power the probe's transmitter for more than two hours after landing.

Hydrae · 01-14-2005, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lzen

That is awesome. I can't wait to see the images.

I would imagine this has something to do with the temperature.

Yeah, on the Science channel last night they said that they were hoping for 3 hours of life from the batteries before the cold zapped them. Too bad it didn't land real close to some volcanically active area that might have kept it alive longer.

ZepSinger · 01-14-2005, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Lane

Cool can't wait to see the pics from this.

Dave

The first pictures have just started coming in, and they are fairly amazing..

**Donger** · 01-14-2005, 02:24 PM

CNN's got a picture on their website.

Hydrae · 01-14-2005, 02:34 PM

Here is the shot they have on the European Space Agencies site (different from the one on CNN and NASA.gov):

**Dave Lane** · 01-14-2005, 02:34 PM

Yeah just one I want more

Dave

**Bob Dole** · 01-14-2005, 02:35 PM

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm

**Donger** · 01-14-2005, 02:36 PM

Please don't tell me these asshats spent millions of dollars on this thing, and couldn't spring a few extra bucks on a color camera...

**Bob Dole** · 01-14-2005, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donger

Please don't tell me these asshats spent millions of dollars on this thing, and couldn't spring a few extra bucks on a color camera...

It was taken with the Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer.

01-14-2005, 01:10 PM
Donger "Think BOOM!" Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W Casino cash: $10339900 VARSITY	Earth receiving data on Titan's secrets For the space geeks among us... http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/space/0...tan/index.html (CNN) -- Huygens successfully transmitted its first packet of irreplaceable data from Saturn's moon Titan this morning as scientists at the European Space Agency's operations center in Germany erupted in applause. "We are the first visitors to Titan and the scientific data we are collecting now shall unveil the secrets of this new world," said Jean-Jacques Dordain, director general for ESA, in Darmstadt, Germany. He called it a fantastic success for Europe and the spirit of international collaboration that brought together 19 nations, including the United States for the Cassini-Huygens mission. Huygens' batteries -- designed to last just a few minutes after touchdown -- continued to power the probe's transmitter for more than two hours after landing. The data is now streaming to Earth, via the satellite Cassini orbiting Saturn, as a worldwide network of radio telescopes captures it. Eager scientists, some who have dedicated 25 years to the project, are poring over the data, translating ones and zeros into images and measurements of the moon's atmosphere. The first pictures of Titan's surface will be released by ESA about 2:45 ET. "This data is for posterity," said David Southwood, director of science for ESA. "It's for mankind....Scientists are going to argue as we piece together our place in the universe, of how we came to be. It's just the beginning for our science teams." Earlier in the day, radio telescopes confirmed the probe survived reentry, successfully deployed its three parachutes and landed on the moon's icy surface. Cassini received information until it passed beyond the moon's horizon and out of contact. Now Cassini has turned toward Earth and is sending the data to scientists. They hope all the data will survive transmission uncorrupted, said Bob Mitchell, program manager for the Cassini-Huygens mission at NASA. "What we know is the probe survived reentry.... descended the atmosphere, contacted the surface and transmitted for at least an hour and half," he said. "What we don't know is how did the instruments work, how did Cassini work and do we have the data intact." Huygens reached the surface of Saturn's moon Titan on Friday around 7:45 ET, reported elated scientists from the European Space Agency, standing ready to analyze long-awaited data from the cloud-shrouded moon. "We have a signal. We know that Huygens is alive meaning the dream is alive," said Jean-Jacques Dordain director general for ESA which designed Huygens. "This is already an engineering success and we will see, later this afternoon, if this is a scientific success." The saucer-shaped probe has completed the final hours of its 2.2 billion-mile mission to Titan, an enormous moon larger than the planet Pluto. "It's going to be the most exotic place we've ever seen," said Candice Hansen, a scientist for the Cassini-Huygens mission. "We've never landed on the surface of an icy satellite. We know from our pictures that there are very different kinds of geological processes." The Cassini-Huygens mission is an unprecedented $3.3-billion effort between NASA, the European Space Agency, which designed the probe, and Italy's space program to study Saturn and its 33 known moons. The two vehicles were launched together from Florida in 1997. "The mission is to explore the entire Saturnian system in considerably greater detail than we have ever been able to do before: the atmosphere, the internal structure, the satellites, the rings, the magnetosphere," said Cassini program manager Bob Mitchell at NASA. The Huygens probe, about the size of a Volkswagen Beetle, spun silently toward Titan after it detached from the Cassini spacecraft on December 24. Cassini will remain in orbit around Saturn until at least July 2008. The mission "will probably help answer some of the big questions that NASA has in general about origins and where we came from and where life came from," Mitchell said. Titan's atmosphere, a murky mix of nitrogen, methane and argon, resembles Earth's more than 3.8 billion years ago. Scientists think the moon may shed light on how life began. Finding living organisms, however, is a remote possibility. "It is not out of the question, but it is certainly not the first place I would look," Hansen said. "It's really very cold." A lack of sunlight has put Titan into a deep-freeze. Temperatures hover around -292 F (-180 C) making liquid water scarce and hindering chemical reactions needed for organic life. New discoveries The mysteries of Saturn, the sixth planet from the sun, have always enticed researchers. Scientists are perplexed why Saturn, a gas-giant composed primarily of hydrogen and helium, releases more energy than it absorbs from faint sunlight. Titan is also the only moon in the solar system to retain a substantial atmosphere, one even thicker than Earth's. The 703-pound, battery-powered Huygens probe parachuted through Titan's clouds of methane and nitrogen for two-and-a-half hours, sampling gases and capturing panoramic pictures along the way. Huygens hit the upper atmosphere 789 miles (1,270 km) above the moon at a speed of about 13,700 mph (22,000 km/h). A series of three parachutes slowed the craft to just 15 mph (24 km/h). Chutes and special insulation protected Huygens from temperature swings and violent air currents. Strong winds -- in excess of 311 mph (500 km/h) -- buffeted the craft. Its sensors deduced wind speed, atmospheric pressure and the conductivity of Titan's air. Methane clouds and possibly hydrocarbon rain was analyzed by an onboard gas chromatograph. A microphone listened for thunder. Three rotating cameras took panoramic views of the moon and a radar altimeter mapped Titan's topography. A special lamp illuminated the probe's landing spot to help determine the surface composition. Engineers had been confident that Huygens and its suite of six sensitive instruments would survive the descent. "From an engineering standpoint, I'm very confident in a positive outcome," said Shaun Standley, an ESA systems engineer for Huygens at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. "We've been over this again and again for the last three years fine-tuning this." Cassini crossed Saturn's rings without mishap in June 2004 and produced the most revealing photos yet of the rings and massive gas-giant. A problem with the design of an antennae on Cassini almost scrapped Huygens' mission, but engineers altered the spacecrafts' flight plans to resolve the transmission problem.
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01-14-2005, 01:18 PM	#2
\|Zach\| For The Glory Of The City Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Kansas City Casino cash: $5326768	Cool story...thanks for the heads up.
Posts: 53,435

01-14-2005, 02:01 PM	#4
Hydrae Sandbox: Leander Lasercats Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Austin, Tx Casino cash: $2317000	That is so cool that it landed succesfully! I am recording the show tonight on the Science channel so I can check it out when I get home from work tonight. I wonder how long those batteries will last in that -180 degree weather.
Posts: 14,686

01-14-2005, 02:03 PM	#5
Miles MVP Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Dallas, TX Casino cash: $1652400	Wonder if that Tralfamadorian robot is still there?
Posts: 14,521

01-14-2005, 02:10 PM	#6
Dave Lane Space Cadet and Aczabel Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Kanab, UT, USA Casino cash: $9333275 VARSITY	Cool can't wait to see the pics from this. Dave __________________ Thanks, Trump for the civics lesson. We are learning so much about RICO, espionage, sedition, impeachment, the 25th Amendment, order of succession, nepotism, separation of powers, 1st Amendment, obstruction of justice, the emoluments clause, conflicts of interest, collusion, sanctions, oligarchs, money laundering and so much more.
Posts: 40,584

01-14-2005, 02:24 PM	#10
Donger "Think BOOM!" Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W Casino cash: $10339900 VARSITY	CNN's got a picture on their website. __________________ I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you?
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01-14-2005, 02:34 PM	#11
Hydrae Sandbox: Leander Lasercats Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Austin, Tx Casino cash: $2317000	Here is the shot they have on the European Space Agencies site (different from the one on CNN and NASA.gov):
Posts: 14,686

01-14-2005, 02:34 PM	#12
Dave Lane Space Cadet and Aczabel Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Kanab, UT, USA Casino cash: $9333275 VARSITY	Yeah just one I want more Dave __________________ Thanks, Trump for the civics lesson. We are learning so much about RICO, espionage, sedition, impeachment, the 25th Amendment, order of succession, nepotism, separation of powers, 1st Amendment, obstruction of justice, the emoluments clause, conflicts of interest, collusion, sanctions, oligarchs, money laundering and so much more.
Posts: 40,584

01-14-2005, 02:35 PM	#13
Bob Dole King Shit of **** Mountain Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Texarkana, Texas Casino cash: $2574497	http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm
Posts: 48,553

01-14-2005, 02:36 PM	#14
Donger "Think BOOM!" Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W Casino cash: $10339900 VARSITY	Please don't tell me these asshats spent millions of dollars on this thing, and couldn't spring a few extra bucks on a color camera... __________________ I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you?
Posts: 180,736