January 11, 2005
Dear Friends,
As
I write, the Huygens Probe is speeding towards its historic rendezvous with Titan.
The two-hour voyage down to the surface will return information on the physical
and chemical state of the atmosphere, its aerosols and winds, the composition of
the surface, and of course panoramic images.
For a preview of the imaging coverage expected from the Huygens' Descent Imager,
visit ciclops.org
Entry into the atmosphere begins around 11:15 am Friday, January 14, in
Darmstadt, Germany, the location of the Huygens Operations Center, or early
morning hours in the States. The first set of images will likely not be
available for several hours after that ...perhaps mid-morning in the western US.
The event will be covered live on CNN, and a 20-minute segment of `60 Minutes',
to be aired on Sunday, January 16, will be devoted to the Cassini mission,
including the Huygens landing.
Needless to say, this is one occasion you will not want to miss.
Carolyn Porco
Cassini Imaging Team leader
Director/CICLOPS
Space Science Institute
Boulder, Colorado