Tag: Titan

  • Cassini sails by Saturn’s moon Titan for last time

    Cassini flew by Saturn’s moon Titan on Saturday for the mission’s final close encounter with the Earth-like moon. NASA’s Cassini spacecraft sped by the moon Titan on Saturday, using the hazy world’s gravity to slingshot the probe on a trailblazing trajectory to explore the region between Saturn’s hydrogen-helium atmosphere and the planet’s famous rings for…

  • Cassini conducting fly-by of Titan to sniff its atmosphere

    Cassini conducting fly-by of Titan to sniff its atmosphere

    The Cassini spacecraft is conducting a fly-by pass of Titan on Monday, a pass that will involve two major science observations. Known as the “T-118” Titan encounter, two Cassini instruments are being employed to sniff and observe the moon’s atmosphere before beaming the information back to Earth for evaluation by scientists. Cassini: The Cassini mission…

  • Looking for ET in the waters of Mars and Europa

    STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION India’s Mars Orbiter Mission captured this view of the red planet shortly after it arrived in 2014. Credit: ISRO The discovery of intermittent flows of liquid water on Mars, announced with great fanfare Monday, makes the red planet the leading candidate for the near-term discovery of extraterrestrial life…

  • 10 years since we landed on Titan

    Ten years ago today, on 14 January 2005, a compact, flattened cylinder called Huygens, chock-full of sensors, cameras and scientific experiments, went hurtling through the orange skies of the mysterious moon Titan. An artist’s impression of Huygens on the surface of Titan. Image: ESA/C Carreau. The surface of Titan was still largely unknown at the…

  • MESSENGER and Cassini’s landmark discoveries in 2014

    MESSENGER and Cassini’s landmark discoveries in 2014

    For NASA, 2014 marked the 10th anniversary of MESSENGER in space and the tenth anniversary of Cassini at Saturn. Throughout the year, the two probes returned valuable scientific data to Earth while scientists revealed the fruits of the probes’ labors through several announcements of groundbreaking discoveries at the two planets, including new information about solar…

  • Crescent Saturn and Titan seen by Cassini

    Saturn and Titan appear as crescents in this image from Cassini. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute NASA’s Cassini spacecraft — in its 11th year orbiting Saturn — has spotted the gas giant and its haze-covered moon Titan suspended in the blackness of space as brilliant crescents. Encircled by its famous rings faintly visible in this image,…

  • YIR (Part II) – Lunar and Saturnian exploration captures public’s attention

    YIR (Part II) – Lunar and Saturnian exploration captures public’s attention

    Capturing and holding the attention of the general public for space exploration purposes is often a difficult thing to achieve. But 2013 saw not only NASA but also the China National Space Administration do just that through a series of new and continuing voyages to the Moon and Saturn. YIR Part II: Lunar exploration –…