HuygensThe probe started its descent through Titan's hazy cloud layers from an altitude of about 1270 km. During the following three minutes Huygens had to decelerate from 18 000 to 1400 km per hour. A sequence of parachutes then slowed it down to less than 300 km per hour. At a height of about 160 km the probe's scientific instruments were exposed to Titan's atmosphere, and at about 120 km the main parachute was replaced by a smaller one to complete the 2.25-hour descent. Built by an industrial consortium led by Aerospatiale, the Probe System comprises two principal elements:
The Probe itself consists of the Entry Assembly (ENA) cocooning the Descent Module (DM). The ENA provided Orbiter attachment, umbilical separation and ejection, cruise and entry thermal protection, and entry deceleration control. It was jettisoned after entry, releasing the Descent Module. The DM comprises an aluminium shell and inner structure containing all the experiments and Probe support subsystems, including the parachute descent and spin control devices. The Probe Support Equipment (PSE) consists of:
Last Update: 17 May 2010
|
- Missions
- Show All Missions
- Mission Home
- Summary
- Fact Sheet
- Objectives
- Mission Team
- Orbit View
-
Science…
- Huygens Probe
- Huygens
- Instruments
- Engineering
- Cassini Orbiter
- 3D Model
- Instruments
- Engineering
- Mission Operations
- Launch Vehicle
- Launch Information
- Approach and Arrival
- Getting to Saturn
- Huygens Probe Separation
- Titan Surface Landing
- Flybys
- Science Operations
- Data Archive
- Resources
- News Archive
- Multimedia Gallery
- Publication Archive
- Calendar of Events
- Services
- Contact Us
- Subscribe
- Terms and Conditions
