Please click on a question to see the answer. If your question is not answered here, send the question to us and if it is the first frequently asked question we get, we'll add it to the list. Due to the high volume of correspondence we receive, we cannot reply personally or answer questions in a timely manner. Thank you for your interest in the Cassini-Huygens mission.

General Information

What is Cassini-Huygens? Where can I find basic information on Cassini? How can I get updates as the mission progresses? Cassini's orbits seem to become more and more rounded and less "egg shaped." Why is that? What were the fastest speeds reached by the Cassini spacecraft? MORE...

Raw Images

Why are parts of the image missing? Why are parts of the right side of the image missing? Why is the bottom of an image missing? MORE...

Images and Data

What is the Cassini-Huygens Mission's data release policy? I've heard that there will be a one-to-two year delay in public access to the data. Where can I get the highest-resolution images of Saturn? When will recent images of Saturn be released? MORE...

Mission

How was the altitude of 50 kilometers chosen for the March 2008 flyby of Enceladus? Why is T-8 the Ninth Flyby of Titan and Not the Eighth? When will Cassini-Huygens arrive at Saturn? Will I be able to watch Cassini-Huygens arrive at Saturn? What will Cassini do? MORE...

Trajectory

How long would it take for a spacecraft to travel to Saturn using a Hohmann transfer orbit? Why was this not used for the Cassini mission to Saturn? Why did Cassini-Huygens take such a roundabout path to Saturn? Why didn't it just fly straight there?

Technical Information

Where can I find information on Cassini's instruments? The Cassini spacecraft carries three radioisotope thermoelectric generators. Where can I find information about them? How long does it take for transmissions from Cassini to reach Earth?

Names Disk

What was the program to send people's names to Saturn with the Cassini spacecraft?

Saturn

Who discovered Saturn? Where can I find Galileo's sketches of Saturn? Where can I find technical information about Saturn? MORE...

Huygens Probe

Why couldn't the Huygens probe have had a radioisotope power source such as those used on the Mars Viking landers? Three hours of battery life sounds as if it will only be able to communicate with Cassini on just one single pass of Titan. What will the Huygens Probe do? What precautions have been taken to prevent the Huygens Probe from contaminating Titan when it lands there? I am interested in finding out about the instruments the Huygens probe has for detecting complex chemicals, especially hydrocarbons.

Titan

Is Titan considered a likely place to look for life? I am wondering whether the Huygens Probe has onboard cameras that will reveal what Titan's surface looks like. If Titan is bigger than Mercury or Pluto, why isn't it considered a planet? MORE...

Enceladus

How do we know that there is water in Enceladus? If water has been spewing from Enceladus for a long time, what replenishes its water supply?

Visiting JPL

Can I visit JPL?