The Huygens Probe was named after Christiaan Huygens, a Dutch astronomer who in 1655 discovered Titan, Saturn's largest moon.The probe was designed by the European Space Agency (ESA), to perform an in-depth study of the clouds, atmosphere, and surface of Titan.
Artist depiction of Huygens landing on Titan. Credit: ESA. It was eight years ago on January 14, 2005 that the Huygens spacecraft descended through Titan’s murky atmosphere and touched down – if a bit precariously – by bouncing, sliding and wobbling across the surface of Saturn’s largest moon Titan. Huygens: the top 10 discoveries at Titan Ten years ago, ESA's Huygens probe entered the history books by descending to the surface of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon.  Built and operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), it was part of the Cassini–Huygens mission and became the first spacecraft ever to land on Titan. The probe was named after the Dutch 17th-century astronomer Christiaan Huygens, who discovered Titan in 1655. The combined Cassini–Huygens spacecraft was launched from Earth on October 15, 1997. Huygens separated from the Cassini orbiter on December 25, 2004, and landed on Titan on January 14, 2005 near the Xanadu region. This was the first landing ever accomplished in the outer Solar System. The Huygens probe system consists of the 318 kg probe itself, which descended to Titan, and the probe support equipment (PSE), which remained attached to the orbiting spacecraft. Huygens ' heat shield was 2.7 m in diameter. Thereafter, up to seven moons of the planet were discovered by Cassini. Cassini was the first spacecraft to orbit around Saturn. Cassini also discovered that Saturn’s orbital period had increased by a time period of six minutes. Huygens landed on Titan in January 2005. Titan is the second largest moon in size and has a nitrogen atmosphere that is thick and rich in methane.  Exploring both Saturn and Titan, Saturn's mysterious moon. Name Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695) was a Dutch scientist who discovered Saturn's rings and, in 1655, its largest moon, Titan. Italian Jean-Dominique Cassini (1625-1712) discovered the Saturnian satellites Iapetus, Rhea, Tethys and Dione. The ESA Huygens probe is the first to land on a world in the outer Solar System-on the surface of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. Data from Cassini and Huygens may offer clues about how life began on Earth. Launch 15 October 1997 (Titan-IVB/Centaur at Cape Canaveral, United States). Cassini launched in October 1997 with the European Space Agency's Huygens probe. The probe was equipped with six instruments to study Titan, Saturn's largest moon. It landed on Titan's surface on Jan. 14, 2005, and returned spectacular results. Meanwhile, Cassini's 12 instruments have returned a daily stream of data from Saturn's system since arriving at Saturn in 2004. Huygens discovered Titan, and Cassini discovered a few more of Saturn's moons. The mission was commonly called Saturn Orbiter Titan Probe (SOTP) during gestation, both as a Mariner Mark II mission and generically. Cassini is the fourth space probe to visit Saturn and the first to enter orbit, and its mission is ongoing as of 2015. It has studied the planet and its many natural satellites since arriving there in 2004. Development started in the 1980s. Its design includes a Saturn orbiter, and a lander for the moon Titan. The Huygens probe lands on Titan On 14 January 2005 the Huygens probe made a historic journey of approximately 2.5 hours through Titan's hazy atmosphere to the surface. A series of parachutes opened to slow the probe down. More to discover. The Huygens probe made measurements of Titan's atmosphere and surface for just four hours but supplied scientists with enough data to keep them busy for many years. The Huygens probe, supplied by the European Space Agency (ESA) and named after the 17th century Dutch astronomer who first discovered Titan, Christiaan Huygens, scrutinized the clouds, atmosphere, and surface of Saturn's moon Titan in its descent on January 15, 2005. Cassini is the fourth space probe to visit Saturn and the first to enter orbit, and its mission is ongoing as of 2015. It has studied the planet and its many natural satellites since arriving there in 2004. Development started in the 1980s. Its design includes a Saturn orbiter, and a lander for the moon Titan. The Huygens Probe was named after Christiaan Huygens, a Dutch astronomer who in 1655 discovered Titan, Saturn's largest moon. The probe was designed by the European Space Agency (ESA), to perform an in-depth study of the clouds, atmosphere, and surface of Titan. Image right: Building the Huygens Probe Image credit: ESA. Remaining on the Cassini orbiter will be the probe support equipment (PSE), which includes the electronics necessary to track the probe and to recover the data gathered during its descent. Then, in January of 2005, just 45 minutes before reaching the atmosphere of Titan, timers will wake up the Huygens probe.
http://www.astrobio.net/topic/solar-system/saturn/titan/what-happened-when-huygens-landed-on-titan-eight-years-ago/ http://sci.esa.int/cassini-huygens/55221-huygens-titan-science-highlights/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huygens_probe http://www.thetimenow.com/astronomy/cassini-huygens.php http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Cassini-Huygens/Cassini-Huygens_mission_facts http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/introduction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassini%E2%80%93Huygens http://sci.esa.int/education/45751-the-huygens-probe-lands-on-titan/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassini%E2%80%93Huygens http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/spacecraft/huygens.html
what did huygens probe discover