Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Artist’s impression of the Huygens probe on Titan, based on transmitted images. In the foreground sits the car-sized lander that sent back images for more than 90 minutes before running out of battery power. The parachute that slowed Huygen’s re-entry is seen in the background, still attached to the lander. Smooth stones, possibly containing water-ice, are strewn about the landscape.
Credit: ESA

Ten years ago, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Huygens probe parachuted into the history books by descending to the surface of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon.

Humanity’s first successful attempt to land a probe on another world in the outer Solar System took place on January 14, 2005.

Huygens hitched a ride to the Saturn system attached to NASA’s Cassini spacecraft – still exploring the Saturnian system today.

The lander plunged into Titan’s atmosphere and survived a 2 hour 27 minute descent, then touched down safely on Titan’s frozen surface. The probe sent back the first ever images from beneath Titan’s thick cloud layers.

Aerial views of Titan around ESA’s Huygens landing site
Credit: ESA/NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Huygens continued to transmit back to Earth, mainly via Cassini, for another 72 minutes before its batteries died.

The stream of data provided a unique treasure trove of in situ (on-the-spot) measurements from the planet-sized satellite which scientists are still mining today.

Cold and misty wilderness

“The anticipation of the arrival of Huygens at Titan was tremendous. Even six months after insertion into Saturn orbit, we still had only vague impressions of what the surface might be like, and the liquid hydrocarbons we were confident had to be there were not evident,” recalls Carolyn Porco, Cassini Imaging Team Leader and Director of the Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations (CICLOPS) in Boulder, Colorado.

In her own words, recorded in a Captain’s Log on January 11, 2005, she noted the suspense:

“We are about to enter a cold and misty wilderness, never before touched by anything human. This will be a tale to tell, of exploration, discovery and intrigue, not unlike those told by Jules Verne a century and a half ago. Only this time, it will be real.

We are capable of extraordinary achievements, and this will surely be one of them.

Ladies and gentlemen … prepare to make contact.”

To access Carolyn Porco’s informative website and more Huygens 10 year anniversary information, go to:

http://www.ciclops.org/view/7988/Huygenss-Descent-to-Titans-Surface