Huygens probe Lander confirm liquid on Titan’s surface

John Halladay — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 12:00:43 +0000

Huygens probe was Lander and a part of the Cassini-Huygens mission. This mission was jointly done by NASA, ESA and ASI. The major objective behind this mission is to confirm the presence of large bodies of liquid on the surface of Titan. It was launched on December 25, 2004. This was the first time human-made probe, which landed on an extraterrestrial ocean. It was designed to enter and build fully instrumented robotic laboratory on the surface of Titan.

Assuming the landing site as non-solid, the Huygens probe was splash downed on a liquid surface of Titan. It was equipped with six complex instruments, which helped to take a wide range of scientific data from Titan’s atmosphere. These are:

· Huygens Atmospheric Structure Instrument (HASI)

· Doppler Wind Experiment (DWE)

· Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer (DISR)

· Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer (GC/MS)

· Aerosol Collector and Pyrolyser (ACP)

· Surface-Science Package (SSP)

After successful descend to Titan surface the probe support equipment (PSE) remained attached to the orbiting spacecraft. The PSE was included to track the probe, to recover the data gathered during its descent, and to process and deliver the data to the orbiter, from which it transmitted to the ground.

After complete verification it was confirmed that large bodies of liquid on the surface of Titan are present. With this successful result, a hope of existing life is deliberately confirmed.

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Huygens probe Lander confirm liquid on Titan’s surface