Cassini Spacecraft Overview

Context:

Recent findings from data collected by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft reveal the presence of a vast ocean beneath the icy surface of Saturn’s moon Mimas.

Relevance:

GS III: Science and Technology

Dimensions of the Article:

1. Cassini Spacecraft Overview
2. Key Facts about Mimas

Cassini Spacecraft Overview

Mission Background:

• Cassini-Huygens was a collaborative space mission involving NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Italian Space Agency (ASI) with the goal of exploring Saturn.

Launch Date:

• Launched on October 15, 1997, the Cassini-Huygens mission aimed to provide comprehensive insights into Saturn and its moons.

Components:

• The mission comprised NASA’s Cassini orbiter, marking the first space probe to orbit Saturn, and the ESA’s Huygens probe, which successfully landed on Titan, Saturn’s largest moon.

Spacecraft Details:

• Cassini-Huygens was one of the largest interplanetary spacecraft.
• The Cassini orbiter, weighing 2,125 kg (4,685 pounds), measured 6.7 meters (22 feet) in length and 4 meters (13 feet) in width.
• Instruments onboard Cassini included radar for mapping Titan’s cloud-covered surface and a magnetometer for studying Saturn’s magnetic field.
• The disk-shaped Huygens probe, mounted on Cassini, weighed 349 kg (769 pounds), was 2.7 meters (8.9 feet) across, and carried six instruments for studying Titan’s atmosphere and surface.

Mission Highlights:

• Orbited Saturn from 2004 to 2017, completing 294 orbits around the planet.
• Provided extensive knowledge about Saturn, including the structure of its atmosphere and rings, and their interactions with the planet’s moons.
• Discovered six named moons and identified Enceladus and Titan as promising locations to search for extraterrestrial life.
• Cassini played a pivotal role in advancing our understanding of the Saturnian system and contributed significantly to planetary exploration.

Key Facts about Mimas

Position and Size:

• Mimas is the smallest and innermost among Saturn’s major regular moons.

Surface Characteristics:

• The moon’s surface is icy and exhibits a high concentration of craters.

Gigantic Crater – Herschel:

• Mimas features a colossal crater named Herschel, measuring 80 miles (130 km) in diameter.
• Within the Herschel crater, a central peak rises to a height of 4 miles, comparable to the height of Mount Everest on Earth.
• Herschel stands out as one of the solar system’s largest impact structures, considering the size of the celestial body.

Low Density Composition:

• Mimas has a low density, indicating that it is primarily composed of water ice.

Solar System Significance:

• Mimas contributes to our understanding of the diversity and composition of moons within the Saturnian system, showcasing unique geological features and characteristics.

-Source: Indian Express