A new video provides a wonderfully vivid view of the descent 12 years ago of the Huygens Probe onto the surface of Saturn’s moon Titan using the actual images that were transmitted back to Earth via the Cassini spacecraft: Cassini: Mission to Saturn: Huygens: ‘Ground Truth’ from an Alien Moon

On Jan. 14, 2005, ESA’s Huygens probe made its descent to the surface of Saturn’s hazy moon, Titan. Carried to Saturn by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, Huygens made the most distant landing ever on another world, and the only landing on a body in the outer solar system. This video uses actual images taken by the probe during its two-and-a-half hour fall under its parachutes.

Huygens was a signature achievement of the international Cassini-Huygens mission, which will conclude on Sept. 15, 2017, when Cassini plunges into Saturn’s atmosphere.