What is the Cassini-Huygens space probe?
Q: What is the Cassini-Huygens space probe?
A: The Cassini-Huygens space probe is a joint mission between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Italian Space Agency (ASI) that was launched in 1997 to study Saturn and its moons. It has been responsible for discovering the lakes of liquid methane on Titan, one of Saturn's moons.
Q: What are the larger lakes on Titan known as?
A: The larger lakes on Titan are known as maria, or seas.
Q: How did scientists first suggest there were seas of liquid methane on Titan?
A: Scientists first suggested there were seas of liquid methane on Titan after reading Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 information which showed that Titan had a thick atmosphere capable of supporting lakes. However, exact evidence was not found until 1995 when pictures from telescopes such as Hubble provided some proof of liquid methane possibly in lakes or planet-wide oceans similar to those found on Earth.
Q: When did the Cassini mission prove there are liquid lakes on Titan?
A: The Cassini mission proved there are liquid lakes on Titan in January 2007 when it flew by and took radar images at its south pole which revealed a large dark area called Ontario Lacus - possibly created by rain clouds - along with a possible shoreline.
Q: What chemicals have been found in Titans polar lakes?
A: Scientists studying infrared pictures taken by the Cassini-Huygens probe have determined that one or more of Titans large polar lakes contain hydrocarbons such as ethane and methane.
Q: How much does water cover Titans surface?
A: Water covers 0.002–0.02% of Titans surface according to data collected from the Cassini-Huygens probe's flyby in December 2007.
Q: What do scientists believe may be present near Titans center based off data collected from Huygens-Cassinis landing site?
A: Scientists believe wet clay may be present near Titans center based off data collected from Huygens-Cassinis landing site, which showed no open areas of liquid but did reveal rivers that had dried up along with a large flat area covered in pebbles made out of water ice which indicates fluids were once present at this location.
