US space agency NASA’s Cassini-Huygens spacecraft launched in October 1997, may have died seven years ago after it was crushed and vaporised as it plunged into the atmosphere of Saturn, it continues to surprise space enthusiasts. The spacecraft reportedly generated reams of data that are still being analysed. Reportedly, using Cassini’s radar data, scientists from Cornell University have discovered some new information about the liquid ocean on Titan which is Saturn’s largest moon. Titan is said to be composed of hydrocarbons - organic chemicals consisting of carbon and hydrogen. The astronomers have reportedly located calm seas of methane with a slow tidal current. The latest analysis also lays the groundwork for future investigation into the ocean moons of our solar systems. The team of researchers have been able to examine the composition and the roughness of the sea in Titan which is located near its north pole. Cassini data used for the new findings have been collected using bistatic radar which required the spacecraft sending a radio beam at Titan which was later reflected towards Earth. According to Valerio Poggiali, the main difference is that the bistatic information is a more complete dataset and is sensitive to both the composition of the reflecting surface and to its roughness. Poggiali is a team member and a Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science (CCAPS) researcher. What is Cassini-Huygens mission? Cassini-Huygens was a space-research mission initiated by NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Italian Space Agency to study the planet Saturn and its system, its natural satellites and rings. Termed the flagship-class robotic spacecraft, it comprised NASA’s Cassini space probe and ESA’s Huygens lander. Reportedly, Cassini is the fourth space probe to survey Saturn, and the first to enter its orbit where it stayed between 2004 and 2017. The spacecraft was named after two astronomers Giovanni Cassini and Christiaan Huygens. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7NIPEQ5lW0&t=30s Cassini embarked on a seven-year journey to Saturn in 1997. After it reached in 2004, the orbiter along with its European Huygens lander changed the way we perceive Saturn, its fascinating rings, and multiple moons. In 2005, Huygens landed on Saturn's largest moon Titan. Along with the observations from Cassini, the mission found methane clouds, lakes and canyons brimming with hydrocarbons. Besides it also relayed some closer images of Saturn's moons like Prometheus, Mimas, and Enceladus. After finishing nearly 20 years of operation, the spacecraft ran out of fuel making it difficult to navigate. In its final moments, the spacecraft became an atmospheric probe returning scientific data from Saturn until its demise. Reportedly, the Cassini-Huygens mission has produced around 2,500 scientific papers. On 15 September 2017, the mission came to an end after Cassini was disposed by a controlled fall into Saturn's atmosphere. Moments later it disintegrated and vanished.
