Andrew Yee
December 1st 05, 05:26 AM
ESA News
http://www.esa.int
30 November 2005
Highlights of ESA's Huygens mission
After a seven-year journey on board the NASA/ESA/ASI Cassini spacecraft,
ESA's Huygens probe was released on 25 December 2004. It reached the upper
layer of Titan's atmosphere on 14 January 2005 and landed on the surface
after a parachute descent of 2 hours and 28 minutes.
Clear images of the surface were obtained below 40 km altitude --
revealing an extraordinary world, resembling Earth in many respects,
especially in meteorology, geomorphology and fluvial activity. The images
show strong evidence for erosion due to liquid flows, possibly methane, on
Titan.
The probe descended over the boundary between a bright icy terrain eroded
by fluvial activity, and a darker area that looked like a dry river- or
lakebed. Huygens landed in the dark area. Water-ice pebbles up to a few
centimetres in diameter were scattered near the landing site, and the
surface here was found to have the consistency of loose wet sand.
Winds were found to blow predominantly in the direction of Titan's
rotation, west to east winds, with speeds up to 450 km/h above an altitude
of 120 km. The winds decreased with decreasing altitude and then and
changed direction close to the surface. An unexpected layer of high
wind-shear was encountered between altitudes of 100 and 60 km.
Huygens also surprised the scientists by finding a second lower
ionospheric layer, between 140 km and 40 km, with electrical conductivity
peaking near 60 km, and its instruments may also have recorded the
signature of lightning.
'Haze' was detected all the way down to the surface, contrary to the
predictions of pre-Huygens models. It was predicted that the atmosphere
would be clear of 'haze' in the lower stratosphere, below around 60 km.
Fortunately, the haze was transparent enough for good images of the
surface to be obtained below 40 km.
Huygens enabled studies of the atmosphere and surface, including the first
in-situ sampling of the organic chemistry and the aerosols below 150 km.
These confirmed the presence of a complex organic chemistry in both the
gas and the solid phase, which reinforces the idea that Titan is a
promising place to observe chemical pathways involving molecules that may
have been the building blocks of life on Earth.
Argon 40 was also detected at the surface and its presence indicates that
Titan has experienced in the past, and is most likely still experiencing
today, internal geological activity.
Notes to editors:
This is a summary based on a paper called 'Huygens Descent and Landing on
Titan: Mission Overview and Results Highlights', which appears on line in
Nature, on 30 November 2005.
The authors are: Jean-Pierre Lebreton, Olivier Witasse, Miguel
Pérez-Ayúcar and Thierry Blancquaert, ESA Science Directorate, ESTEC, The
Netherlands; Claudio Sollazzo, ESA Operations Directorate, ESOC, Germany;
Patrice Couzin and Anne-Marie Schipper, Alcatel Alenia Space, Cannes-La
Bocca, France; Jeremy B. Jones and Dennis L. Matson, NASA JPL, Pasadena,
USA; Leonid I. Gurvits, Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe, Dwingeloo, The
Netherlands; David H. Atkinson, Univ. of Idaho, Moscow, USA and Bobby
Kazeminejad, Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Graz,
Austria.
For more information:
Jean-Pierre Lebreton, ESA Huygens Mission Manager
E-mail: jplebret @ rssd.esa.int
Related articles
* At Saturn and Titan
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huygens/index.html
* Looking at Mars
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/index.html
* Titan's turbulence surprises scientists
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Results_from_Mars_Express_and_Huygens/SEMLKRULWFE_0.html
* Rain, winds and haze during the descent to Titan
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Results_from_Mars_Express_and_Huygens/SEM23TULWFE_0.html
* Tide out on Titan? A soft solid surface for Huygens
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Results_from_Mars_Express_and_Huygens/SEM80TULWFE_0.html
* First 'in situ' composition measurements made in Titan's atmosphere
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Results_from_Mars_Express_and_Huygens/SEMK1TULWFE_0.html
* Huygens 3D animation of Titan's surface
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huygens/SEMO8G808BE_0.html
* Huygens landing site animation
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/DISR/
Related links
* Mars Express instruments
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/SEMUC75V9ED_0.html
* Huygens instruments
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huygens/SEM9W82VQUD_0.html
* Cassini instruments
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huygens/SEMY182VQUD_0.html
[NOTE: Images supporting this release are available at
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Results_from_Mars_Express_and_Huygens/SEMTFSULWFE_1.html
]
http://www.esa.int
30 November 2005
Highlights of ESA's Huygens mission
After a seven-year journey on board the NASA/ESA/ASI Cassini spacecraft,
ESA's Huygens probe was released on 25 December 2004. It reached the upper
layer of Titan's atmosphere on 14 January 2005 and landed on the surface
after a parachute descent of 2 hours and 28 minutes.
Clear images of the surface were obtained below 40 km altitude --
revealing an extraordinary world, resembling Earth in many respects,
especially in meteorology, geomorphology and fluvial activity. The images
show strong evidence for erosion due to liquid flows, possibly methane, on
Titan.
The probe descended over the boundary between a bright icy terrain eroded
by fluvial activity, and a darker area that looked like a dry river- or
lakebed. Huygens landed in the dark area. Water-ice pebbles up to a few
centimetres in diameter were scattered near the landing site, and the
surface here was found to have the consistency of loose wet sand.
Winds were found to blow predominantly in the direction of Titan's
rotation, west to east winds, with speeds up to 450 km/h above an altitude
of 120 km. The winds decreased with decreasing altitude and then and
changed direction close to the surface. An unexpected layer of high
wind-shear was encountered between altitudes of 100 and 60 km.
Huygens also surprised the scientists by finding a second lower
ionospheric layer, between 140 km and 40 km, with electrical conductivity
peaking near 60 km, and its instruments may also have recorded the
signature of lightning.
'Haze' was detected all the way down to the surface, contrary to the
predictions of pre-Huygens models. It was predicted that the atmosphere
would be clear of 'haze' in the lower stratosphere, below around 60 km.
Fortunately, the haze was transparent enough for good images of the
surface to be obtained below 40 km.
Huygens enabled studies of the atmosphere and surface, including the first
in-situ sampling of the organic chemistry and the aerosols below 150 km.
These confirmed the presence of a complex organic chemistry in both the
gas and the solid phase, which reinforces the idea that Titan is a
promising place to observe chemical pathways involving molecules that may
have been the building blocks of life on Earth.
Argon 40 was also detected at the surface and its presence indicates that
Titan has experienced in the past, and is most likely still experiencing
today, internal geological activity.
Notes to editors:
This is a summary based on a paper called 'Huygens Descent and Landing on
Titan: Mission Overview and Results Highlights', which appears on line in
Nature, on 30 November 2005.
The authors are: Jean-Pierre Lebreton, Olivier Witasse, Miguel
Pérez-Ayúcar and Thierry Blancquaert, ESA Science Directorate, ESTEC, The
Netherlands; Claudio Sollazzo, ESA Operations Directorate, ESOC, Germany;
Patrice Couzin and Anne-Marie Schipper, Alcatel Alenia Space, Cannes-La
Bocca, France; Jeremy B. Jones and Dennis L. Matson, NASA JPL, Pasadena,
USA; Leonid I. Gurvits, Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe, Dwingeloo, The
Netherlands; David H. Atkinson, Univ. of Idaho, Moscow, USA and Bobby
Kazeminejad, Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Graz,
Austria.
For more information:
Jean-Pierre Lebreton, ESA Huygens Mission Manager
E-mail: jplebret @ rssd.esa.int
Related articles
* At Saturn and Titan
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huygens/index.html
* Looking at Mars
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/index.html
* Titan's turbulence surprises scientists
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Results_from_Mars_Express_and_Huygens/SEMLKRULWFE_0.html
* Rain, winds and haze during the descent to Titan
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Results_from_Mars_Express_and_Huygens/SEM23TULWFE_0.html
* Tide out on Titan? A soft solid surface for Huygens
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Results_from_Mars_Express_and_Huygens/SEM80TULWFE_0.html
* First 'in situ' composition measurements made in Titan's atmosphere
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Results_from_Mars_Express_and_Huygens/SEMK1TULWFE_0.html
* Huygens 3D animation of Titan's surface
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huygens/SEMO8G808BE_0.html
* Huygens landing site animation
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/DISR/
Related links
* Mars Express instruments
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/SEMUC75V9ED_0.html
* Huygens instruments
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huygens/SEM9W82VQUD_0.html
* Cassini instruments
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huygens/SEMY182VQUD_0.html
[NOTE: Images supporting this release are available at
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Results_from_Mars_Express_and_Huygens/SEMTFSULWFE_1.html
]