Huygens (spacecraft)

Huygens spaceprobe

A full-size replica of the probe, 1.3 metres (4.3 feet) across
Mission type	Lander
Operator	ESA / ASI / NASA
COSPAR ID	1997-061C
Website	Huygens home page
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer	Thales Alenia Space (then Aérospatiale)[1]
BOL mass	320 kg (710 lb)
Power	1800 Wh total
Start of mission
Launch date	08:42, October 15, 1997 (UTC) (08:42, October 15, 1997 (UTC))
Rocket	Titan IV(401)B piggybacking with Cassini orbiter
Deployment date	December 25, 2004
End of mission
Last contact	13:37, January 14, 2005 (UTC) (2005-01-14T13:37Z)
Landing date	12:43, January 14, 2005 (UTC)
Titan lander
Landing date	12:43, January 14, 2005 (SCET UTC)
Landing site	10°34′23″S 192°20′06″W / 10.573°S 192.335°W / -10.573; -192.335 (Huygens probe)[2]
ESA quadrilateral mission insignia for Huygens Horizon 2000 ← Cluster XMM-Newton →

Huygens (/ˈhɔɪɡənz/ HOY-gənz) was an atmospheric entry robotic space probe that landed successfully on Saturn's moon Titan in 2005. Built and operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), launched by NASA, it was part of the Cassini–Huygens mission and became the first spacecraft to land on Titan and the farthest landing from Earth a spacecraft has ever made.^[3] The probe was named after the 17th-century Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens,^[4] who discovered Titan in 1655.

The combined Cassini–Huygens spacecraft was launched from Earth on 15 October 1997.^[4] Huygens separated from the Cassini orbiter on 25 December 2004, and landed on Titan on 14 January 2005 near the Adiri region.^[5] Huygens's landing is so far the only one accomplished in the outer Solar System or on a moon other than Earth's.^[6]

Huygens touched down on land, although the possibility that it would touch down in an ocean was also taken into account in its design. The probe was designed to gather data for a few hours in the atmosphere, and possibly a short time at the surface. It continued to send data for about 90 minutes after touchdown.