Cassini-Huygens

We know very little about the area of our solar system that contains the planet Saturn. Named for the father of Jupiter in Roman mythology, Saturn was the Roman god of fertility and farming. Hopefully, the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft will bring us closer to understanding this very unique planet and its surroundings. On October 15, 1997, the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft began a fascinating journey, traveling to Saturn by way of Venus, Earth and Jupiter. It will arrive at the Saturn region in July 2004 carrying 18 complex science instruments designed to gather data, images and information never before available to scientists on Earth. Once it arrives at Saturn Cassini-Huygens will continue to feed back data until at least the year 2008. The first spacecraft designed specifically to investigate the mysterious planet of Saturn as well as its atmosphere, moons and rings, Cassini-Huygens is a complex mission involving a multi-national effort and an innovative design to promote the advance...