The Cassini Mission to Saturn
During Cassini's first flyby of Enceladus, a tenuous atmosphere was detected in magnetic field data, which may imply internal activity. This atmosphere may help explain the source of Saturn's outermost E ring.
The icy surface of Enceladus appears to have similarities to both Europa and Ganymede -- two prominent icy satellites of Jupiter. Both Europa and Ganymede are thought to have subsurface water layers or "oceans," so the similarities with Enceladus are intriguing.
Next up for Cassini: Titan Flyby: 1400 km (800 miles): October 28, 2005
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Image Credit: ESA/NASA/Univ. of Arizona
After arriving at Saturn Cassini launched the Huygens probe to the Saturn moon Titan, seen here in an artist's conception. There is a theory that liquid water may exist under Titans frozen surface.
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A short clip of Cassini and the probe Huygens
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Hi res mpg of S/2005 S1
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The Nasa page on the Cassini Mission to Saturn. Opens in a new window.
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