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Ten years ago Nasa and the ESA landed a probe on Titan. It marked humanity's first landing in the outer solar system and sent back stunning pictures of that distant world. To mark the occasion a video showing the descent of the Huygens probe has been released.
In the video, Nasa explains the topographical features Huygens revealed as it descended on the Saturnian moon, the largest satellite in the solar system. Not only did Huygens successfully descend through Titan's dense atmosphere, but it also survived for more than an hour on the surface, sending back data until its batteries died.
During that time it also snapped the first picture taken from the surface of a satellite in the outer solar system. The Huygens probe and Cassini orbiter have revealed staggering details of Saturn and Titan, with the latter expected to keep sending back data until its mission ends in 2017.
We now know that Titan has weather, with liquid methane raining down on its surface. This methane forms lakes and seas, with clouds drifting through the atmosphere. Titan also has water ice on its surface and complex networks of river channels, flood plains and Earth-like river rocks.
Video ist hier zu sehen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMxL3ZhO8A8
Quelle: WIRED
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Huygens: The top 10 discoveries at Titan
Ten years ago, ESA's Huygens probe entered the history books by descending to the surface of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. Humanity's first successful attempt to land a probe on another world in the outer Solar System took place at 13:34 CET (12:34 GMT) on 14 January 2005.
Huygens hitched a ride to the Saturn system during an epic, seven-year voyage attached to NASA's Cassini spacecraft. The final chapter of the interplanetary trek was a 21-day solo cruise toward the haze-shrouded moon. Plunging into Titan's atmosphere, the probe survived the hazardous 2 hour 27 minute descent to touch down safely on Titan's frozen surface.
Huygens continued to transmit back to Earth for another 72 minutes before contact was lost with Cassini as it dipped below the horizon. The stream of data provided a unique treasure trove of in situ measurements from the planet-sized satellite which scientists are still mining today. To mark the 10th anniversary of Huygens landing on Titan, we have selected 10 important results from the pioneering mission.
Quelle: ESA
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