Passage to a Ringed World - NASA's History Office

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Three separate images, taken by Voyager 2 through ultraviolet, violet and green filters, respectively, were combined to create this false-color image of Saturn. CHAPTER 1 Saturn, the second most massive planet in the solar system, offers us a treasure of opportunities for exploration and discovery. Its remarkable system of rings is a subject intensively studied, described and cataloged. Its planet-sized satellite, Titan, has a dense, veiled atmo- From Observation to Exploration Saturn was known even to the ancients. Noting the apparitions of the planets and recording other celestial events was a custom of virtually every early civilization. These activities knew no oceanic bounds, suggesting a curiosity universal to humankind. Real progress in understanding the planets came with the invention and A Mission of Discovery use of instruments to accurately measure celestial positions, enabling astronomers to catalog the planets’ positions. Developments in mathematics and the discovery of the theory of gravitational attraction were also necessary steps. With the invention of the telescope and its first application in ob- sphere. Some 17 additional icy satellites are known to exist — each a separate world to explore in itself. Saturn’s magnetosphere is extensive and maintains dynamic interfaces with both the solar wind and with Titan’s atmosphere. serving the heavens by Galileo Galilei, the pace of progress quickened. Today, the Cassini–Huygens mission to Saturn and Titan is designed to carry out in-depth exploration of the Saturn system. A payload of science instruments will make in situ measurements or observe their targets under favorable geometric and temporal circumstance. For example, an instrument might make observations over a range of various angles of illumination and emission, or study events such as occultations or eclipses. Cassini–Huygens’ interplanetary journey starts in October 1997, with the launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida. Upon arrival at Saturn, Cassini– Huygens will go into orbit about the planet. The spacecraft consists of two parts — the Cassini Orbiter and a smaller spacecraft, the Huygens Probe, which is targeted for Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. Huygens will arrive at Titan in November 2004. After using its heat shield for deceleration in Titan’s upper atmosphere, Huygens will deploy a parachute system. Six instruments will make scientific measurements and observations during the long A MISSION OF DISCOVERY 1
2 PASSAGE TO A RINGED WORLD GETTING TO KNOW SATURN A TIMELINE OF DISCOVERY ~ 800 BC Assyrian and Babylonian observations ~ 300 AD Mythological view of Saturn the god 1610 Galileo notes the “triple planet” Saturn with his telescope 1655–59 Huygens discovers Saturn’s largest satellite, Titan 1671–84 Cassini discovers a division in the ring; he also discovers the satellites Iapetus, Rhea, Dione and Tethys 1789 Herschel discovers satellites Mimas and Enceladus — and notes thinness of rings 1848 Bond and Lassel discover the satellite Hyperion 1850 Bond, Bond and Daws discover inner ring 1857 Maxwell proves that rings are not solid 1895 Keeler measures ring velocities 1898 Pickering discovers satellite Phoebe 1932 Wildt discovers methane and ammonia on Saturn 1943–44 Kuiper discovers methane and ammonia on Titan 1979 Pioneer 11 flies past Saturn 1980 Voyager 1 encounters Saturn 1981 Voyager 2 encounters Saturn 1989 Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field and Planetary Camera images Saturn 1995 Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 images ring plane crossing 1997 Cassini–Huygens launches 2004 Cassini–Huygens enters Saturn orbit; Huygens explores Titan
Page 1: Passage to a Ringed World The Cassi
Page 4 and 5: On the Cover: A collage of images s
Page 6 and 7: FOREWORD This book is for you. You
Page 8 and 9: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This book would not
Page 12 and 13: descent to the surface. The Huygens
Page 14 and 15: address the challenges of the missi
Page 16 and 17: Participant Nations* * First flag i
Page 18 and 19: PROBING A MOON OF MYSTERY Huygens
Page 20 and 21: TOUR T18-3 TARGETED SATELLITE FLYBY
Page 22 and 23: SATURN CASSINI-HUYGENS MISSION SCIE
Page 24 and 25: Cassini-Huygens designed to determi
Page 26 and 27: In this diagram from his book, Syst
Page 28 and 29: This Voyager 1 image shows Saturn
Page 30 and 31: An Extended Atmosphere From Liquid
Page 32 and 33: Haze layers are also observed above
Page 34 and 35: IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER Taken fr
Page 36 and 37: This spectacular view of the edge o
Page 38 and 39: the interaction was described as a
Page 40 and 41: have a signature of a tone decreasi
Page 42 and 43: CONSTITUENTS OF THE TITAN ATMOSPHER
Page 44 and 45: The processes of plate tectonics an
Page 46 and 47: tan was accreting, it is possible t
Page 48 and 49: Surface Science. The highest resolu
Page 50 and 51: This enhanced Voyager 2 image shows
Page 52 and 53: Voyager 1 captured this striking im
Page 54 and 55: Prometheus and Pandora, two tiny sa
Page 56 and 57: In the stellar occultation experime
Page 58 and 59: scattering than are larger particle
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In fact, Saturn’s rings — as we
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The satellites of Saturn comprise a
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Before the advent of spacecraft exp
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The bright surface of Saturn’s mo
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Galilean satellites. Most of what i
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duced that one hemisphere is compos
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patches on the surface. Although it
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Artist’s conception of Ithaca Cha
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An artist’s rendition of Saturn
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The MAPS Instruments Coordinated ob
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field reverses direction across the
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SATURN’S MAGNETIC FIELD Saturn’
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Solar Wind Magnetosheath Titan neut
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per atmosphere. Energetic particles
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and plasma wave emissions from narr
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CHAPTER 7 Space mission design aims
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(SOI) propulsive maneuver to initia
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the tour cannot continue. Of course
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crease inclination to this value. T
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This illustration shows the main de
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discussed earlier) and data handlin
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of the spacecraft! Below the oxidiz
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• Opening or shutting thermal lou
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management subsystem and the Probe
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falls below its storage temperature
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The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft stan
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The Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS)
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• Map the composition and thermal
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cise distance between the surface f
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• Study the interaction of the ma
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• Study the erosional and electro
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midway out on the magnetometer boom
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The RPWS instrument will be used to
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altitudes down to 40 kilometers abo
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dex. A group of platinum resistance
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CHAPTER 10 Mission operations are t
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PLANETARY MISSION OPERATIONS Functi
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two low-gain antennas 1 and will pr
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During much of Cassini’s orbital
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articulation control subsystem’s
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AFTERWORD It has been said that in
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Developments tied to the Cassini-Hu
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APPENDIX A Command. A data transact
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APPENDIX A 138 PASSAGE TO A RINGED
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APPENDIX A Plasma wave. A wave char
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APPENDIX A 142 PASSAGE TO A RINGED
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APPENDIX B H O 2 + Water molecule w
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APPENDIX C 146 PASSAGE TO A RINGED
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APPENDIX D 148 PASSAGE TO A RINGED
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APPENDIX D 150 PASSAGE TO A RINGED
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APPENDIX F 152 PASSAGE TO A RINGED
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APPENDIX F 154 PASSAGE TO A RINGED
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APPENDIX F Peralta, F. and S. Flana
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National Aeronautics and Space Admi
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