This computer animation shows the observations to be taken by the Cassini
spacecraft during its second close approach to Titan on Monday, Dec. 13,
2004. Red indicates observations to be taken in the infrared, white in
the visible, and purple in the ultraviolet. The name of the instrument
team that designed each observation -- Imaging Science Subsystem, Visual
and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer, Composite and Infrared Spectrometer
and Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph, is shown.
During this flyby, Cassini will pass approximately 1,200 kilometers (746
miles) above Titan's surface - about the same distance as the previous
close flyby in October. This will be Cassini's final flyby of Titan
before the European Space Agency's Huygens probe, piggybacking on Cassini,
is released to explore the smoggy moon's atmosphere and touch down on its
surface.
The globe of Titan is covered with the map of imaging data shown in PIA06148.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the
European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in
Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space
Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard
cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team
is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.
For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit,
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page,
http://ciclops.org.