Follow this link to go to the text only version of nasa.gov
Spacer
Spacer
Spacer
NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Spacer Spacer Follow this link to skip to the main content
+ Contact NASA
Spacer
Spacer Go
Spacer
Spacer
Spacer
+ ARC Home
+ Home
ASTROBIOLOGY
HIGHLIGHTS
ABOUT ASTROBIOLOGY
ASTROBIOLOGY WORLDWIDE
SCIENCE & MISSIONS
TECHNOLOGIES
MEETINGS & EVENTS
FOR THE RESEARCHER
EDUCATION & OUTREACH
FOR THE STUDENT
MULTIMEDIA
RELATED LINKS
Spacer
Spacer
Spacer
Spacer ASTROBIOLOGY FACT?
spacer
spacer spacer
Scientists are particularly interested in Saturn's moon Titan because it's one of the few known moons with its own dense atmosphere. Titan's atmosphere is also thought to be very similar to what Earth's atmosphere was a long time ago. By learning about Titan, we'll learn about our own planet.
spacer
spacer
Spacer
Astrobiology Banner
Spacer
Spacer
news and events
Spacer
Spacer

This site is no longer maintained. It contains historical data.

For current information about the NASA Astrobiology Program, please visit http://astrobiology.nasa.gov/


1999-08-18 | MISSIONS
Cassini-Huygens flies by Earth

The Cassini spacecraft has passed through Earth's gravity again to slingshot itself to Saturn. When it arrives in 2004, the spacecraft will releaseHuygens probe to land on Saturn's moon Titan.

A possible ocean of liquid methane on Titan may shed light on how organic molecules are formed.


More on this story Full text of original item from Science@NASA, Aug 18, 1999

Related news stories

Mar 14, 2007 | SCIENCE
NASA's Cassini Spacecraft Images Seas on Titan
(NASA) - Instruments on NASA's Cassini spacecraft have found evidence for seas, likely filled with liquid methane or ethane, in the high northern latitudes of Saturn's moon Titan. One such feature is larger than any of the Great Lakes of North America and is about the same size as several seas on Earth..

Dec 15, 2003 |
Saturn Rings in the New Year
(NASA) - Earth is approaching Saturn for the planets' closest encounter in decades.

Nov 01, 2002 | MISSIONS
Titan in View
(Astrobiology Magazine) - The Cassini spacecraft has snapped a photo of its destinations, Saturn and its moon Titan.

Sep 26, 2002 | SCIENCE, MISSIONS
ESA to Search for Life, but not as We Know It
(ESA) - Scientists consider what the European Space Agency’s Huygens mission to Titan and Venus Express mission could uncover.

Sep 17, 2002 | SCIENCE, MISSIONS
One Small Step... but Only on a Hospitable Planet!
(ESA) - Robotic explorers in our solar system may pave the way for future human missions.

Aug 30, 2002 | SCIENCE, MISSIONS
NASA Researchers Find Wind Blows in Titan’s Organic Haze
(NASA) - A new model of Titan's atmosphere describes how organic particles form and circulate.

Aug 29, 2002 | MISSIONS
No Bugs Please, This Is a Clean Planet!
(ESA) - ESA is making sure its robotic missions to bodies within our solar system are biologically ‘clean’.

Feb 15, 2002 | MISSIONS, TECHNOLOGIES
Taking to the Air on Saturn's Moon Titan
(Space.com) - Smoggy Titan may one day be explored by blimp.

Oct 22, 2001 | SCIENCE, MISSIONS
Titan: Biological Birthplace?
(NASA Astrobiology Institute) - Saturn’s giant moon Titan, cloaked in a thick nitrogen atmosphere laced with hydrocarbons, could provide a laboratory in the sky for scientists seeking insight into the origins of life.

Sep 27, 2001 | MISSIONS
Cassini-Huygens Checks Out Successfully
(ESA) - In its most recent in-flight checkup, all systems aboard the Cassini spacecraft and the Huygens probe are still fully functional.

Jun 22, 2001 | MISSIONS, TECHNOLOGIES
Cassini/Huygens Mission to Titan Changed to Save Data
(Space.com) - Engineers have devised a fix for an error that would have lost data from Saturn's moon.

May 16, 2001 | SCIENCE, MISSIONS
What Is Saturn's Moon Titan Really Made Of?
(Spaceflight Now/ESA) - New images of Titan bolster the idea that an ocean of liquid organic compounds exists on its surface.

Dec 22, 2000 | MISSIONS
Cassini probe snaps photos of Ganymede, Callisto and Europa
(NASA) - Passing by Jupiter, the Cassini spacecraft has returned new images of the giant planet 's largest moons. Three of them may harbor oceans of water.

Dec 08, 2000 | MISSIONS
NASA's Galileo celebrates five years orbiting Jupiter
(NASA) - In its years of service, Galileo has provided evidence of liquid water on Europa and Callisto.

Oct 18, 2000 | SCIENCE, MISSIONS
Liquid methane rain on Titan
(BBC) - Scientists have found evidence that methane in the atmosphere of Titan condenses into liquid and rains down on the surface.

Oct 05, 2000 | MISSIONS, TECHNOLOGIES
Engineers work to fix problem with mission to Titan
(NASA) - Engineers hope to repair a communications glitch aboard the Cassini-Huygens space probe, now en route to Saturn's moon Titan.

Aug 16, 2000 | SCIENCE, MISSIONS
Possible ice mountains seen on Titan
(Spaceflight Now/University of Arizona) - A bright spot on this moon of Saturn may be mountains of water ice drenched in a rain of liquid methane.

Apr 17, 2000 | MISSIONS
Cassini survives the asteroid belt
(Science@NASA) - The Cassini mission may shed light on whether organics in the outer solar system influenced the origin of life.

Aug 17, 1999 | MISSIONS
The fallout from Cassini
(Scientific American) - Controversy over the spacecraft's plutonium may threaten future missions to explore the solar system.


The preceding news links are provided as a public service for interested users. The views and claims expressed in external internet sites are not necessarily those of NASA.

Spacer


FirstGov - Your First Click to the US Government
+ Freedom of Information Act
+ Budgets, Strategic Plans and Accountability Reports
+ The President's Management Agenda
+ NASA Privacy Statement, Disclaimer,
spacerand Accessibility Certification

+ Inspector General Hotline
+ Equal Employment Opportunity Data Posted Pursuant
spacerto the No Fear Act

+ Information-Dissemination Priorities and Inventories
NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Editor: Minafra
NASA Official: Lynn J. Rothschild
Last Updated: November 13, 2007
+ Questions and Comments
Spacer
Spacer
Spacer