i, who discovered a large dark gap in the Saturns rings, and the Huygens probe is named after the Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens, who discovered Titan in 1655. Scientists are excited about studying Titan in more detail because its thick clouds completely hid its think surface from view during the Voyagers flybys. The probes 2.2 billion mile roundabout journey to Saturn will take it by Venus twice, the Earth, and Jupiter. Cassinis mission to explore Saturn, its icy rings, the moon Titan, other moons and the huge magnetic bubble that surrounds them is being described as the most ambitious planetary mission ever mounted. The mission also entails the first descent of a probe to a moon of another planet, sending the Huygens probe to the surface of Titan - by far the most distant landing ever attempted on another object in the solar system (Astronomy Now).There is no other planet in the solar system that is adorned like Saturn. Its exquisite ring system is unrivaled. Like Jupiter, Saturn is composed mostly of hydrogen. In contrast to the vivid colors and wild turbulence found in the clouds, Saturns atmosphere has a more subtle hue, and its markings are hidden by the high-altitude haze. Three American spacecraft have visited Saturn, and the Cassini mission is in orbit now. Pioneer 11 sped by the planet returning the first close-up images. Voyager 1 followed in November 1980, sending back photographs that revealed for the first time Saturns ring system and moons. Voyager 2 flew by the planet and its moons in August 1981. The Cassini probe is exploring many of Saturns characteristics from its icy rings to the magnetic field, which is a very ambitious mission. The mission also entails the first decent of a probe to a moon of another planet - the most distant landing ever attempted on another object in the solar system (Great Space Place). These discoveries and close-ups of the exquisite characteristics of Saturn are what make th...
