Summary of the Cassini/Huygen Mission
Essay 1: News from space (Astronomy 101A)
July 1, 2013
Cassini Space Mission Sending Pictures From Space
July 19, 2013 Cassini Space Mission will be in its orbital position ready to collect images as Saturn eclipses the sun. North America and part of the Atlantic Ocean will be in the sunlight. Earth will be visible as a pale blue dot and our Moon will appear as a colorless star-like point of light. Cassini will be in the shadow of Saturn and the senitive detectors will not be damaged when the Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) cameras are turned in the direction of the sun at 2:27pm PDT (5:27pm EDT or 21:27 UTC) for 15 minutes the mission is to collect a mosaic of images that will compose a portrait of the Saturn system.
Historically Earth will be visible for the second time. “Ever since we caught sight of the Earth among the rings of Saturn in September 2006 in a mosaic that has become one of Cassini’s most beloved images, I have wanted to do it all over again, only better,” said Carolyn Porco, Cassini Imaging Team Lead at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, CO. NASA. Cassini entered Saturn’s orbit July 1, 2004, the ISS has taken more than 300,000 images and transmitted them to Earth. So far, 62 moons have been discovered in orbits around Saturn, and 53 of them have been officially named, reported NASA’s JPL website. Sharon Lynch pg. #2
Several high-tech instruments are onboard including the ISS, a Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS), and a Cosmic Dust Analyzer (CDA). Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs) are used to supply the electricity needed for the instruments. RTG’s are used when Solar Power is not a viable option. The Cassini program is an international cooperative effort of NASA, The European Space Agency (ESA), the Italian Space Agency (ISA) and several separate European academic and industrial
July 1, 2013
Cassini Space Mission Sending Pictures From Space
July 19, 2013 Cassini Space Mission will be in its orbital position ready to collect images as Saturn eclipses the sun. North America and part of the Atlantic Ocean will be in the sunlight. Earth will be visible as a pale blue dot and our Moon will appear as a colorless star-like point of light. Cassini will be in the shadow of Saturn and the senitive detectors will not be damaged when the Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) cameras are turned in the direction of the sun at 2:27pm PDT (5:27pm EDT or 21:27 UTC) for 15 minutes the mission is to collect a mosaic of images that will compose a portrait of the Saturn system.
Historically Earth will be visible for the second time. “Ever since we caught sight of the Earth among the rings of Saturn in September 2006 in a mosaic that has become one of Cassini’s most beloved images, I have wanted to do it all over again, only better,” said Carolyn Porco, Cassini Imaging Team Lead at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, CO. NASA. Cassini entered Saturn’s orbit July 1, 2004, the ISS has taken more than 300,000 images and transmitted them to Earth. So far, 62 moons have been discovered in orbits around Saturn, and 53 of them have been officially named, reported NASA’s JPL website. Sharon Lynch pg. #2
Several high-tech instruments are onboard including the ISS, a Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS), and a Cosmic Dust Analyzer (CDA). Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs) are used to supply the electricity needed for the instruments. RTG’s are used when Solar Power is not a viable option. The Cassini program is an international cooperative effort of NASA, The European Space Agency (ESA), the Italian Space Agency (ISA) and several separate European academic and industrial
Cited: Websites: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/cassiniinsider/ http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/ http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/waveatsaturn/participating/ http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/index.html#.UdHpU-CD7S8 http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/index.html#.UdHpU-CD7S8 http://www.nasa.gov/missions/current/ http://www.scientificsonline.com/planisphere-star-planet-locator.html http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/timeline/index.html http://www.ciclops.org/news/making_sense.php?id=6431&js=1