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Voyage to the Mystery Moon
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Program Overview
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NOVA
follows the Cassini-Huygens mission to learn more about Saturn, its rings, and
its moons.
The program:
recalls the first mission to Saturn in 1980 by the Voyager spacecraft. notes that in 1990 NASA and the European Space Agency teamed up to build
the Cassini spacecraft and Huygens probe. explains that because the spacecraft was so heavy, scientists found a way
to use planetary gravitational encounters to aid Cassini's seven-year, 3.5
billion- kilometer journey to Saturn. reports on a communication glitch in the radio link between Cassini and
Huygens discovered after the spacecraft had been launched. presents how scientists solved the problem: they slowed Cassini down so
that it would pass through the Huygens signal at a slower rate and could
receive its data. describes what scientists learned when the Cassini spacecraft passed
within 2,000 kilometers of Phoebe, Saturn's outermost moon. recounts how scientists flew Cassini between Saturn's rings in order to
avoid damage to the spacecraft. details what Cassini's spectrometer revealed about the age and
composition of Saturn's rings. points out that Saturn's largest moon, Titan, has a nitrogen-rich
atmosphere that also contains methane and hydrogen, two key building blocks of
life. describes some of the Huygens probe's instrumentation, including cameras
and a penetrometer to measure the force of Huygens' impact on Titan's
surface. reports on the probe's descent to Titan and presents what the probe
discovered about Titan's atmosphere and surface. compares Titan's surface to Earth's surface and notes the processes that
shaped both. tells that though Huygens is no longer transmitting information about
Titan, Cassini will continue sending data about Saturn and her
moons—Enceladus was recently found to be erupting ice crystals and may be
suitable for life.
Taping Rights: Can be used up to one year after the program is taped off the air.
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