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10th Anniversary of Scientists Mark Cassini Saturn Probe

More than 1,400 scientists gathered last week to mark the 10th anniversary of the launch of the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft to Saturn and discuss the mission's latest discoveries.
Since liftoff on Oct. 15, 1997, aboard a U.S. Air Force Titan 4B rocket, the mission's scientific instruments powered by radioisotope thermoelectric generators have captured a great deal of new information about Saturn's rings and moons.
"With Cassini, amazing discoveries have almost become routine," said Cassini project scientist Dennis Matson of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who manages Cassini's science activities.
Those discoveries include ice geysers shooting from Saturn's moon Enceladus and finding that one of Saturn's rings is created from such ice particles. Cassini will get an even closer look in March 2008 when its third flyby of the moon takes it directly into an icy polar geyser. Scientists want to confirm their suspicions that the geyser is 90 percent water-ice crystals. Ammonia and methane gas are probably also present there, Matson said.
The Cassini orbiter deployed the European Space Agency's (ESA) Huygens probe which parachuted down to the frozen surface of Titan – a moon with lakes of hydrocarbons and complex chemistry that includes methane drizzles – on Jan. 14, 2005. Scientists around the world are recreating conditions on Titan's surface by using information sent back by Huygens. Cassini has also used an onboard radar instrument to peer through the thick clouds of Titan.
"For all of us so closely involved in discovering an Earth-like world, it was worth the long trip. We are now learning about terrestrial-processes that take place on another world – which is fascinating. Cassini-Huygens is truly a success story in international cooperation," said Jean-Pierre Lebreton, ESA Huygens project scientist.
Saturn is still shrouded in mysteries, but Cassini continues to deliver data well beyond its mission life of four years.

Note for Cassini–Huygens
Cassini–Huygens is a joint NASA/ESA/ASI robotic spacecraft mission currently studying the planet Saturn and its moons. The spacecraft consists of two main elements: the NASA Cassini orbiter, named after the Italian-French astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini, and the ESA Huygens probe, named after the Dutch astronomer, mathematician and physicist Christiaan Huygens. It was launched on October 15, 1997 and entered into orbit around Saturn on July 1, 2004. On December 25, 2004 the Huygens probe separated from the orbiter at approximately 02:00 UTC, as confirmed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It reached Saturn's moon Titan on January 14, 2005, where it made an atmospheric descent to the surface and relayed scientific information. It is the first spacecraft to orbit Saturn and the fourth to visit Saturn.

Note for Saturn
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Along with the planets Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune, it is classified as a gas giant (also known as a Jovian planet, after the planet Jupiter). It was named after the Roman god Saturnus, equated to the Greek Kronos (the Titan father of Zeus) and the Babylonian Ninurta. Saturn's symbol represents the god's sickle. The day in the week Saturday gets its name from the planet.

The planet Saturn is primarily composed of hydrogen, with small proportions of helium and trace elements. The interior consists of a small core of rock and ice, surrounded by a thick layer of metallic hydrogen and a gaseous outer layer. The outer atmosphere is generally bland in appearance, although long-lived features can appear. Wind speeds on Saturn can reach 1,800 km/h, significantly faster than those on Jupiter. Saturn has a planetary magnetic field intermediate in strength between that of Earth and the more powerful field around Jupiter.

Saturn has a prominent system of rings, consisting mostly of ice particles with a smaller amount of rocky debris and dust. Sixty known moons orbit the planet. Titan, Saturn's largest and the Solar System's second largest moon (after Ganymede), is larger than the planet Mercury and is the only moon in the Solar System to possess a significant atmosphere.

Release link: http://www.nasa.gov/news/highlights/index.html