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Huygens Sending Hundreds of Titan Images

Posted on: Friday, 14 January 2005, 18:00 CST

The European Space Agency's Huygens probe apparently has collected more than 350 images of the surface of Saturn's moon Titan.

Huygens, which landed on the giant moon Friday, sent about two hours' worth of data back to Earth via relay by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. The first image appeared to show drainage channels carved into Titan's surface.

The probe completed transmitting all its data within a few hours and ESA scientists are just beginning to process what has been received.

Calling the mission a resounding success, ESA mission controllers unveiled the first Titan surface image, which was taken from a height of about 10 miles (16 kilometers). It showed a landscape that resembles mountainous landscapes on Earth, complete with channels that appear to have been carved by the erosive effects of liquid.

Though Titan is far too cold to harbor liquid water -- its surface temperature is hundreds of degrees below zero -- scientists think the moon could be home to seas, lakes and rivers of liquid methane or nitrogen, two of the chief components of its atmosphere.

Huygens had piggy-backed aboard NASA's Cassini spacecraft for seven years before separating Dec. 25 on a dead-stick trajectory toward Titan. The probe entered the moon's atmosphere and apparently parachuted successfully to Titan's surface.

This is a great achievement for Europe and its U.S. partners in this ambitious international endeavor to explore the Saturnian system, said Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA's director general.

Source: United Press International

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