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Huygens Probe Successfully Detaches From Cassini



 
 
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Old December 25th 04, 05:34 AM
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Default Huygens Probe Successfully Detaches From Cassini

MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109 TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov

Carolina Martinez (818) 354-5011
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

STATUS REPORT: 2004-296 December 24, 2004

Cassini Mission Status Report

The European Space Agency's Huygens probe successfully detached
from NASA's Cassini orbiter today to begin a three-week journey
to Saturn's moon Titan. NASA's Deep Space Network tracking
stations in Madrid, Spain and Goldstone, Calif., received the
signal at 7:24 p.m. (PST). All systems performed as
expected and there were no problems reported with the Cassini
spacecraft.

The Huygens probe, built and managed by the European Space
Agency, was bolted to Cassini and has been riding along during
the nearly seven-year journey to Saturn largely in a "sleep"
mode. Huygens will be the first human-made object to explore on-
site the unique environment of Titan, whose chemistry is assumed
to be very similar to that of early Earth before life formed.
Huygens will tell us whether this assumption is correct.

"We wish to congratulate our European partners as their journey
begins and wish them well on their descent to Titan," said Robert
T. Mitchell, Cassini program manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "We are very excited to see the
probe off and to have accomplished this part of our job. Now
we're ready to finish our part - receiving and relaying the
Huygens data back to Earth."

"Today's release is another successful milestone in the Cassini-
Huygens odyssey," said Dr. David Southwood, director of science
program for the European Space Agency. "This was an amicable
separation after seven years of living together. Our thanks to
our partners at NASA for the lift. Each spacecraft will now
continue on its own but we expect they'll keep in touch to
complete this amazing mission. Now all our hopes and expectations
are focused on getting the first in-situ data from a new world
we've been dreaming of exploring for decades."

The Huygens probe will remain dormant until the onboard timer
wakes it up just before the probe reaches Titan's upper
atmosphere on Jan. 14, 2005. Then it will be begin a dramatic
plunge through Titan's murky atmosphere, tasting its chemical
makeup and composition as it descends to touch down on its
surface. The data gathered during this 2-1/2 hour descent will
be transmitted from the probe to the Cassini orbiter. Afterward,
Cassini will point its antenna to Earth and relay the data
through NASA's Deep Space Network to JPL and on to the European
Space Agency's Space Operations Center in Darmstadt, Germany,
which serves as the operations center for the Huygens probe
mission. From this control center, ESA engineers will be
tracking the probe and scientists will be standing by to process
the data from the probe's six instruments.

On Monday, Dec. 27, the Cassini orbiter will perform a deflection
maneuver to keep it from following Huygens into Titan's
atmosphere. This maneuver will also establish the required
geometry between the probe and the orbiter for radio
communications during the probe descent.

More information on the Cassini-Huygens mission is available at:
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and http://www.nasa.gov/cassini .

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the
European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. JPL, a
division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena,
manages the Cassini mission for NASA's Science Mission
Directorate, Washington, D.C. JPL designed, developed and
assembled the Cassini orbiter. The European Space Agency built
and managed the development of the Huygens probe and is in charge
of the probe operations. The Italian Space Agency provided the
high-gain antenna, much of the radio system and elements of
several of Cassini's science instruments.
-end-

  #2  
Old December 25th 04, 10:26 PM
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Default

seems to take longer than it actually does;
as the entire house is filled with such a heavenly aroma,
the waiting becomes almost unbearable.

1 whole child, cleaned and de-headed
1 batch cornbread stuffing (see index)
½ cup melted butter

Remove the giblets from the infant and set aside.
Stuff the cavity where the child?s genitals and anus were located
using ½ cup per pound of meat.
Tie the arms flat to the body, then pull the skin flaps up to close the cavity.
Now tie the thighs up tight to hold it all together.
Place breast side up in a large metal roasting pan.
Bake in 325° oven covered for 2 hours.
Remove cover, stick a cooking thermometer deep into one of the
baby?s buttocks and cook uncovered till thermometer reads 190°,
about another hour.



Pro-Choice Po-Boy

Soft-shelled crabs serve just as well in this classic southern delicacy.
The sandwich originated in New Orleans, where an abundance of abortion clinics
thrive and hot French bread is always available.

2 cleaned fetuses, head on
2 eggs
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 cup seasoned flour
oil enough for deep frying
1 loaf French bread
Lettuce
tomatoes
mayonnaise, etc.

Marinate the fetuses in the egg-mustard mixture.
Dredge thoroughly in flour.
Fry at 375° until crispy golden brown.
Remove and place on paper towels.



Holiday Youngster

One can easily adapt this recipe to ham, though as presented,
it violates no religious taboos against swine.

1 large toddler or small child, cleaned and de-headed
Kentucky Bourbon Sauce (see index)
1 large can pineapple slic


 




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