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STORY WRITTEN FOR & USED WITH PERMISSIONPosted: January 14, 2005The European Space Agency unveiled the first raw images from the Huygens Titan probe today, black-and-white pictures showing ice blocks strewn across the surface and hard-to-interpret features resembling drainage channels and, possibly, a frigid shoreline of sorts. This is one of the first raw images returned by the ESA Huygens probe during its successful descent. It was taken from an altitude of 16.2 kilometres with a resolution of approximately 40 metres per pixel. It apparently shows short, stubby drainage channels leading to a shoreline. Credit: ESA/NASA TVAs of 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT), more than 350 images from the Huygens main camera were on the ground, shot at altitudes above and below the haze layer that marks Titan's thick nitrogen atmosphere.The first picture shown to reporters was shot at an altitude of about 10 miles with a surface resolution of about 50 feet."I think it's pretty clear you see things that look pretty much like drainage channels, maye not like drainage channels like on rivers on the Earth, but perhaps stubby box canyons with seepage out of the walls, flowing down towards what looks very much like a shoreline," said Martin Tomasko, principal investigator for Huygens' descent imager."We suspected there would be liquid on the surface of Titan, we suspected we would see things that looked like drainage channels and shorelines, but we've never been able to see them with this clarity."A second photo showed the surface of Titan surrounding the Huygens probe after it touched down on the frigid moon. The scene resembled recent photos from NASA's Mars rovers, showing a rock-strewn plain stretching away toward a hazy horizon. This raw image was returned by the Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer camera onboard the European Space Agency's Huygens probe after the probe descended through the atmosphere of Titan. It shows the surface of Titan with ice blocks strewn around. The size and distance of the blocks will be determined when the image is properly processed. Credit: ESA/NASA/University of ArizonaSaid European Space agency science chief David Southwood: "I am just delighted. I just wanted to know that there was complexity down there, that this really was a world that was going to yield totally new science. I'm now convinced we're going to do it. it's the end of a wonderful day, I'm going to remember it for the rest of my life."Despite Tomasko's off-the-cuff interpretation of the initial picture, it was not immediately clear whether the images did, in fact, show liquid ethane or related compounds theorized to exist on the surface.Video coverage for subscribers only:VIDEO:THE FIRST PICTURE FROM HUYGENS IS REVEALED VIDEO:HUYGENS POST-LANDING NEWS BRIEFING VIDEO:STATUS REPORT DURING DESCENT AUDIO:TODAY'S STATUS REPORT DURING DESCENT VIDEO:HUYGENS PRE-ARRIVAL NEWS BRIEFING AUDIO:HUYGENS PRE-ARRIVAL NEWS BRIEFING VIDEO:OVERVIEW OF HUYGENS PROBE'S SCIENCE OBJECTIVES VIDEO:JULY NEWS BRIEFING ON CASSINI'S PICTURES OF TITAN VIDEOICTURES SHOWING TITAN SURFACE FROM OCT. FLYBY VIDEO:WHAT'S KNOWN ABOUT TITAN BEFORE THE FIRST FLYBY VIDEO:NARRATED MOVIE OF CLOUDS MOVING NEAR SOUTH POLE VIDEO:OCT. BRIEFING ON RADAR IMAGES OF TITAN SURFACE Ares 1-X PatchThe official embroidered patch for the Ares 1-X rocket test flight, is available for purchase.Apollo CollageThis beautiful one piece set features the Apollo program emblem surrounded by the individual mission logos.Expedition 21The official embroidered patch for the International Space Station Expedition 21 crew is now available from our stores.Hubble PatchThe official embroidered patch for mission STS-125, the space shuttle's last planned service call to the Hubble Space Telescope, is available for purchase. | | | | 2014 Spaceflight Now Inc.First Huygens picture Posted: January 14, 2005 This is one of the first raw images returned by the ESA Huygens probe during its successful descent. It was taken from an altitude of 16.2 kilometres with a resolution of approximately 40 metres per pixel. It apparently shows short, stubby drainage channels leading to a shoreline. Credit: ESA/NASA TVVideo coverage for subscribers only:VIDEO:THE FIRST PICTURE FROM HUYGENS IS REVEALED VIDEO:HUYGENS POST-LANDING NEWS BRIEFING VIDEO:STATUS REPORT DURING DESCENT AUDIO:TODAY'S STATUS REPORT DURING DESCENT VIDEO:HUYGENS PRE-ARRIVAL NEWS BRIEFING AUDIO:HUYGENS PRE-ARRIVAL NEWS BRIEFING VIDEO:OVERVIEW OF HUYGENS PROBE'S SCIENCE OBJECTIVES VIDEO:JULY NEWS BRIEFING ON CASSINI'S PICTURES OF TITAN VIDEOICTURES SHOWING TITAN SURFACE FROM OCT. FLYBY VIDEO:WHAT'S KNOWN ABOUT TITAN BEFORE THE FIRST FLYBY VIDEO:NARRATED MOVIE OF CLOUDS MOVING NEAR SOUTH POLE VIDEO:OCT. BRIEFING ON RADAR IMAGES OF TITAN SURFACE New StationCrew PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!The Expedition 38 embroidered crew patch for the International Space Station is now available in our store! | | | | 2014 Spaceflight Now Inc.First Huygens pictures Posted: January 14, 2005 This raw image was returned by the Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer camera onboard the European Space Agency's Huygens probe after the probe descended through the atmosphere of Titan. It shows the surface of Titan with ice blocks strewn around. The size and distance of the blocks will be determined when the image is properly processed. Credit: ESA/NASA/University of ArizonaVideo coverage for subscribers only:VIDEO:THE FIRST PICTURE FROM HUYGENS IS REVEALED VIDEO:HUYGENS POST-LANDING NEWS BRIEFING VIDEO:STATUS REPORT DURING DESCENT AUDIO:TODAY'S STATUS REPORT DURING DESCENT VIDEO:HUYGENS PRE-ARRIVAL NEWS BRIEFING AUDIO:HUYGENS PRE-ARRIVAL NEWS BRIEFING VIDEO:OVERVIEW OF HUYGENS PROBE'S SCIENCE OBJECTIVES VIDEO:JULY NEWS BRIEFING ON CASSINI'S PICTURES OF TITAN VIDEOICTURES SHOWING TITAN SURFACE FROM OCT. FLYBY VIDEO:WHAT'S KNOWN ABOUT TITAN BEFORE THE FIRST FLYBY VIDEO:NARRATED MOVIE OF CLOUDS MOVING NEAR SOUTH POLE VIDEO:OCT. BRIEFING ON RADAR IMAGES OF TITAN SURFACE Ferryflight Shuttle PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!"The Final Mission" - NASA emblem developed for the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft crew and their support teams to deliver the orbiters to their final destinations at museums. | | | | 2014 Spaceflight Now Inc.Spaceflight Now +Premium video content for our Spaceflight Now Plus subscribers.Burn ignition!Mission control erupts in applause as communications from Cassini confirm the orbit insertion burn has begun. (60sec file)Burn completedSignals from Cassini announce the conclusion of the Saturn orbit insertion burn, confirming the spacecraft has arrived at the ringed planet. (2min 15sec file)Post-arrival briefingMission officials hold a post-orbit insertion burn news conference at 1 a.m. EDT July 1 to discuss Cassini's successful arrival at Saturn. (25min 27sec file)Wednesday's status briefingCassini's health in the final hours before arrival at Saturn is presented in this status briefing from 12 p.m. EDT on June 30. (33min 09sec file)International cooperationOfficials from the U.S., European and Italian space agencies discuss the international cooperation in the Cassini mission and future exploration projects during this news conference from 2 p.m. EDT June 30. (19min 35sec file)'Ring-side' chatThis informal "ring-side chat" from 5 p.m. EDT June 30 discusses the Cassini mission to Saturn and the future of space exploration. (49min 20sec file)Cassini updateMission managers and scientists provide an update on the Cassini mission and preview the spacecraft's arrival at Saturn during this news conference from June 29. (51min 58sec file)Phoebe science briefingScientists report scientific results from the Cassini spacecraft's close-up examination of Saturn's moon Phoebe. (31min 53sec file)Phoebe flyby previewThis animation shows Cassini during its encounter with the tiny moon Phoebe on the route to Saturn. (42sec file)Cassini previewThe Cassini spacecraft's arrival at Saturn is previewed in this detailed news conference from NASA Headquarters on June 3. (50min 01sec file)Saturn arrival explainedCassini's make-or-break engine firing to enter orbit around Saturn is explained with graphics and animation. Expert narration is provided by Cassini program manager Robert Mitchell. (3min 33sec file)Cassini mission scienceThe scientific objectives of the Cassini mission to study the planet Saturn, its rings and moons are explained by Charles Elachi, director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. (4min 54sec file)Huygens mission scienceAfter entering orbit around Saturn, the Cassini spacecraft will launch the European Huygens probe to make a parachute landing on the surface of the moon Titan. The scientific objectives of Huygens are explained by probe project manager Jean-Pierre Lebreton. (3min 14sec file)Flyby timeline BY WILLIAM HARWOOD