Read more
The exploration of the planets is the modem counterpart to the exploration voy ages of old. To reach the new world Columbus had to secure funding from Queen Isabella, outfit his three ships and set sail on a long journey. To explore the Amer ican Pacific Northwest, Lewis and Clark had a similar task of obtaining funding, purchasing equipment and going to points unknown, even though their path was across land and not sea. Today our journey is through space, rather than across land or sea, but we still travel with ships, now spaceworthy craft, rather than seaworthy. Our spacecraft are smaller than the ships of yore, crammed with electronics rather than provisions because man cannot go along on these journeys. We now rely on robots to be our eyes and ears at these distant worlds. Nevertheless, some aspects of exploration have not changed over the centuries. People are still fascinated by these unknown worlds and desire to explore them, and the process of obtaining the large sums of public moneys to finance these journeys still requires much pleading with authorities.
List of contents
The Cassini/Huygens Mission to the Saturnian System.- The Huygens Probe: Science, Payload and Mission Overview.- Touring the Saturnian System.- An Introduction to the Design of the Cassini Spacecraft.- The Huygens Probe System Design.- Cassini-Huygens Investigations of Satellite Surfaces and Interiors.- Saturn's Rings: Pre-Cassini Status and Mission Goals.- Magnetospheric and Plasma Science with Cassini-Huygens.- Touring the Saturnian System: The Atmospheres of Titan and Saturn.- Organic Chemistry and Exobiology on Titan.- The Characterisation of Titan's Atmospheric Physical Properties by the Huygens Atmospheric Structure Instrument (HASI).- Huygens Probe Aerosol Collector Pyrolyser Experiment.- The Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer (DISR) Experiment on the Huygens Entry Probe of Titan.- The Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer for the Huygens Probe.- Huygens' Surface Science Package.- The Huygens Doppler Wind Experiment.
Summary
The exploration of the planets is the modem counterpart to the exploration voy ages of old. To reach the new world Columbus had to secure funding from Queen Isabella, outfit his three ships and set sail on a long journey. To explore the Amer ican Pacific Northwest, Lewis and Clark had a similar task of obtaining funding, purchasing equipment and going to points unknown, even though their path was across land and not sea. Today our journey is through space, rather than across land or sea, but we still travel with ships, now spaceworthy craft, rather than seaworthy. Our spacecraft are smaller than the ships of yore, crammed with electronics rather than provisions because man cannot go along on these journeys. We now rely on robots to be our eyes and ears at these distant worlds. Nevertheless, some aspects of exploration have not changed over the centuries. People are still fascinated by these unknown worlds and desire to explore them, and the process of obtaining the large sums of public moneys to finance these journeys still requires much pleading with authorities.
Additional text
"For a mission that will take at least 18 years from conception to completion, it is useful for everyone to be reminded of why it was proposed and how it will be accomplished. This is an essential and convenient reference work for any researcher interested in the Saturnian system and the treasure trove of data that Cassini-Huygens will return."
(Carl Murray, The Observatory, 124)
Report
"For a mission that will take at least 18 years from conception to completion, it is useful for everyone to be reminded of why it was proposed and how it will be accomplished. This is an essential and convenient reference work for any researcher interested in the Saturnian system and the treasure trove of data that Cassini-Huygens will return."
(Carl Murray, The Observatory, 124)
