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Explanation: NASA's Saturn Explorer Cassini with ESA's Titan Probe Huygens attached successfully rocketed into the skies early yesterday morning. The mighty Titan 4B Centaur rocket is seen here across the water gracefully arcing away from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Station. Cassini, a sophisticated, bus-sized robot spacecraft is now on its way ... to Venus, the first planetary way point in its 7 year, 2.2 billion mile journey to Saturn. The mission profile calls for Cassini to swing by Venus during April 1998 and June 1999, Earth in August 1999, and Jupiter in December 2000. During each of these "gravity assist" encounters the six ton spacecraft will pick up energy needed to reach Saturn in July 2004. Cassini's mission is the most ambitious voyage of interplanetary exploration ever mounted by humanity and the Huygens Probe's planned descent to the surface of Titan will be the most distant landing ever attempted.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: cassini spacecraft - Venus
Publications with words: cassini spacecraft - Venus
See also:
- APOD: 2025 May 11 B The Surface of Venus from Venera 14
- The ISS Meets Venus
- APOD: 2025 March 16 B Venus and the Triply Ultraviolet Sun
- APOD: 2025 February 23 B Saturn in Infrared from Cassini
- A Conjunction of Crescents
- APOD: 2025 January 19 B Titan Touchdown: Huygens Descent Movie
- APOD: 2024 January 8 B The Phases of Venus