Titan Probe Crashing Down Tonight (January 13, 2005)

[ChrisReid]

Meson would be angry if I didn't mention that the Cassini-Huygens probe will be making planetfall on Titan tonight. The party is around 3 AM Eastern US time. Some of us will be up in #Wingnut to see if it goes successfully. Official NASA coverage can be found here. There'll be some sort of webcast here.

01.13.05 - Mission managers for the European Space Agency's Huygens probe said the spacecraft is on course for its descent to Saturn's mysterious moon Titan on Friday, Jan. 14. The probe, which detached from NASA's Cassini orbiter last month, will be the first object to explore on-site the unique environment of Titan, whose chemistry is thought to be very similar to that of early Earth, before life formed. The data gathered during the probe's 2 1/2 hour descent through Titan's atmosphere will be transmitted from the probe to the Cassini orbiter and then back to Earth.

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Original update published on January 13, 2005