"Huygens-Cassini" - automatic interplanetary station: a study of Saturn

In 1973, a global study was begun of one of the planets of the solar system - Saturn. American scientists in space were released interplanetary station called "Pioneer-11." This allowed us to learn a lot about the distant and mysterious planet, to see its beauty and to explore the surface. Over time, scientists realized that they needed to get more information about the cosmic giant, only of a different nature. And for this purpose a mission of two Cassini and Huygens vehicles was developed. Interest in the planet will not only allow us to learn more about its characteristics, but it will probably be the beginning of new research and inventions on Earth. In addition to the beautiful photographs of Saturn, the device also transmits data on the composition of the soil, the height of various magnitudes, and most importantly, it helps to examine more closely the satellites of the cosmic giant. Perhaps, having learned more about them, we will be able to solve more mysteries of the universe, and there are still a lot of them.

General information about the machine

To send the mission, the US had to spend about three billion dollars to conduct research on a distant planet. The three most famous and talented organizations exploring outer space, were engaged in the development and construction of equipment, in addition, seventeen different countries took part in the process. They made the apparatus, whose height was ten meters, and the starting weight was about six tons. The automatic station "Huygens" was equipped with twelve scientific instruments, as well as a bar for a magnetometer and a wiring length of fourteen kilometers. It was one of the most expensive and significant developments for the study of space at the time.

The device of the device "Cassini"

Communication with the Earth was developed by an Italian company. She equipped the device with a four-meter antenna. In connection with the place that he had to use, the solar panels decided not to use, because they will not make any sense there. Instead, three thermoelectric and radioisotope generators were used as an energy generator. Thirty-three kilograms of highly radioactive plutonium, serving as fuel, were filled in them. This amount is enough for two hundred years of operation of the equipment. By the way, about half the weight of the station "Huygens-Cassini" takes fuel, with which the vehicle braked, went into Saturn's orbit and conducted other maneuvers necessary for the mission.

"Huygens"

This is an ordinary space probe, which, according to the plans of the creators, was to land on the giant's satellite - Titan. It is equipped with six instruments designed specifically to study the surface of the satellite. Also on it there is an airborne camera designed to capture the landscapes of the satellite, at that time practically not studied by scientists. The weight of the device is 350 kilograms. The association with Cassini was conducted with the purpose of joint flight, because the missions of these two objects are close to each other.

Flight

On October 15, 1997, the launch of the Cassini station and the Huygens apparatus attached to it for the exploration of Saturn took place. To send the station into space, a specialized booster rocket called "Titan 4B" was used. In addition, we had to use an additional block, which provided the overclocking of the object, which was called the Centaur. Immediately the device was to arrive on Venus. This was due to a number of numerous reasons, because, as the cosmonauts say, there are no direct roads in the galaxy. The gravitational fields of the three planets helped to accelerate the apparatus. In order not to waste resources, during the flight to the destination, the station used only a few percent of its potential.

First pictures

Arrived at the site of Cassini Huygens in the winter of 2000. It was then that he sent the first images of Saturn to the Earth in the first lunar quarter, a species not seen before by earthlings. Also, the researchers received images of a Phoebe satellite, which is no less interesting than scientists, no less than a giant planet. It was a real sensation, because people for the first time managed to so clearly consider this space object.

The Phoebus satellite

Thanks to the photos, we managed to consider that Phoebe looks very much like an asteroid with a size of two hundred kilometers and that it has an irregular shape. In addition, scientists have learned that to a greater extent it consists of ice and has the structure of a comet. This information brought scientists closer to understanding the secrets of the Saturn system.

Solar glare on the icy rings of Saturn

Having overcome the distance to Saturn, "Cassini" entered the orbit of the planet. It happened in mid-summer 2004. On the way, he encountered only two obstacles, but this did not cause particularly significant damage. Before landing on the planet, he made 74 turns around Saturn, it took him about four years. But during this time he studied the surface of the giant and his companions. It is worth noting that the station flew around Titan 45 times.

Basic goals

"Huygens", "Cassini" were sent to Saturn in order to study the planet, namely:

• Identify the structures and find out the behavior of the rings of the planet.
• Learn the geological structure and history of Saturn's satellites.
• To find out the nature and where the dark matter originated on one of the hemispheres of the satellite Iapetus.
• Investigate the structure and behavior of the magnetosphere.
• Explore the structure of the clouds and learn how the atmosphere behaves.
• Learn more about the fog and cloud cover on Titan.
• Determine the nature of the surface of Titan.

Mission Tools

"Huygens", "Cassini" were equipped with a spectrometer, so that on Earth they could get the maps of the planet compiled by the apparatus. Also, a system for obtaining images "Radar" was installed. With its help, the height of objects on the planet and satellites was measured. "Radar" works using radio signals that reflect the satellite. In addition, he listened to the radio signals that the planet is emitting. Also in the equipment are: mass spectrometer of neutral particles and ions, plasma and radio waves, magnetosphere chamber, ultraviolet and infrared spectrometer-camera, magnetometer, RF subsystem and nuclear generator.

Chronicle of the Flight

• 1997 - departure from the Earth.
• 1998 - the first maneuver on Venus and the creation of many beautiful and unforgettable pictures of the planet.
• 2000 - a flight past the asteroid Mussurski, thanks to the station it was possible to learn that its diameter is about 20 kilometers, which significantly influenced further research.
• 2000 - in December, he flew past Jupiter, making many color photographs and conducting a number of important studies.
• 2001 - the detection of haze on the way from Jupiter to Saturn, these are the first signs of it in the constellation of the Pleiades.
• 2004 - a flight past Titan and the discovery of cryovolcano with the expiring nitrogen ice, which became a sensation in the world of space exploration.
• 2004 - on the night of December 25 there was a separation of the Cassini probe.
• 2005 - Cassini successfully landed on Titan and proceeded to fulfill its part of the mission.

Mission Results

With the help of the device, scientists managed to conduct an experiment to test the general theory of relativity. At this point, scientists observed a frequency shift and a signal delay. In 2005 it was possible to study the spokes of Saturn, but this did not help to understand the mechanism of their creation. It is believed that the next needles were to appear in 2007. In addition, the device has made it possible to discover new satellites of the planet Methone, Palena and Polydesis. And in May, in the gap Keeler discovered another satellite, called Daphnis, this is the second satellite, whose orbit is located inside the rings of the planet. I found water ice on the surface of Phoebe. Also, scientists have discovered liquid hydrocarbon lakes in the northern hemisphere of Titan. It is worth noting that this is the first time scientists have found water bodies somewhere other than Earth. Thanks to the probe "Cassini" it became known that their size varies from one to hundreds of kilometers. In 2007, it was stated that a large accumulation of seas was discovered on the northern part of Titan. A year before, scientists learned about another mystery, which contains Saturn, "Cassini" discovered the atmospheric structure, which is a hexagonal storm of 25 thousand kilometers.

Mission Extension

Deciding what will happen to the device after it completes its mission, the scientists developed several variants of the development of events for the Huygens-Cassini station. The most priority and desired option, proposed by the developers, was the withdrawal of the device to the elongated orbit of Saturn. Its advantage is that the station would continue to fly around the planet, while it would not collide with its satellites or other obstacles that could affect its integrity.

The second option, proposed by the research center, was the station's departure into the atmosphere of Saturn. But there is one difficulty to do this, it would have to be carried through the rings of the planet. In this case, the probability of losing control over the device is great, and accordingly, the unknown, what fate awaits Saturn "Cassini".

It was also proposed to use the station to study other space objects in the Kuiper belt, including Uranus and Neptune. Given the fuel reserve and the set of tools, the station would have coped with the task and would have helped to learn more about the poorly studied areas of our solar system.

Another option to use the automatic interplanetary station was to bring it to the collision course with Mercury. Scientists have calculated that this is quite possible, if we use the gravitational field of Jupiter. Then he will fly to the planet at a speed of 20 kilometers per hour and without harm to himself will face a poorly studied object. According to these plans, in about 2021 people could study Mercury in more detail, its structure, structure and composition.

But in 2007 it was decided unanimously that the station would remain in Saturn's orbit. The observation of the planet continues to this day, the satellite constantly transmits pictures of this amazing giant to Earth, revealing to us all the new secrets of the distant and yet incomprehensible Saturn completely, the distance to which we were able to overcome with the help of the well-known scientists and the desire to learn the cosmos. Of course, a lot of money, time and effort was spent, but with full confidence one can say that it was worth it. The more we learn about the world around us, the better we will be able to understand ourselves. Space exploration develops annually, and who knows, perhaps the next mission on Saturn will be performed not by a functional automatic station, but by a group of qualified astronauts. In any case, the device made an exit into orbit and opened to people not only useful information, but also unique images of this distant and beautiful planet.