CU 'eyes' to examine Titan as probe begins momentous Xmas journey

Cornell space scientists, who began 2004 with a spectacular double landing of NASA's rovers Spirit and Opportunity on Mars, will end the year by participating in an equally impressive feat: the attempted landing of a probe on Saturn's largest and most interesting moon, Titan.

On Christmas Day, the Cassini spacecraft, which has been in orbit around Saturn since June 30, will release its 700-pound Huygens probe to begin a long drop towards Titan. Named after the Dutch astronomer who discovered the Saturnian moon in 1655, Huygens will drift through space until it hits Titan's atmosphere on Jan. 15, moving at 10 miles a second. The dense air encountered by the probe will rapidly slow it down, allowing Huygens to drift downward under a deployed parachute for almost three hours.

http://www.news.cornell.edu/Chronicle/04/12.16.04/Titan_probe.html