Science highlights from Cassini's 10 years in space NASA's
Cassini spacecraft to Saturn, the most complex spacecraft ever
sent to another planet, launched 10 years ago today, on 15
October 1997. It has had a highly successful mission, together
with the European Space Agency's Huygens probe, which landed on
Saturn's moon Titan on 14 January, 2005, after separating from
Cassini. Since arriving at Saturn on 1 July 2004, Cassini has
returned spectacular images of Saturn and its rings, along with
views of its moons showing unprecedented detail. Among its most
exciting findings to date is the discovery of plumes of water
vapour spewing from the south pole of the icy Saturnian moon,
Enceladus. The finding raised hopes that there might be liquid
water somewhere below the moon's surface, perhaps providing the
right conditions for life. Cassini's radar instrument has cut
through the smoggy atmosphere of Saturn's moon, Titan, to reveal
what appears to be a plethora of lakes filled with liquid
hydrocarbons pooling on the