Space mission Cassini

The space mission Cassini, destined to explore the neighborhood of Saturn, will accumulate a large mass of scientihc data. This mission was extremely costly. With the same money, hundreds of hospitals and schools in Africa could have been built. Where would you have invested that amount of money ... 

Another occasional use of hydrogen during space missions is as a reference gas with specific scientific instruments. One example of this application involves the Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn and its moon Titan that was launched in October 1997 and arrived at its destination during the summer of 2004 [106]. 

The use of these devices is based on more than thirty years of operation experience on space vehicles of various types. As an example, the US Department of Energy (DoE) has up to now suppUed 44 radioisotope-powered thermoelectric generator systems, used in 24 space missions. The most recent thermoelectric generator built by the DoE, the General Purpose Heat Source Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (GPHS-RTG), (Fig. 26-1), produces 290 W of electric energy with less than 11 kg of plutonium dioxide. Three units are installed on the Cassini vehicle for the exploration of Saturn,... 

Source Linda J. Spilker, ed. Passage to a Ringed World The Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn and Titan. NASA Special Publication SP-533. Washington, D.C. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, October 1997, Chapter 3. 

Schock A et al (1999) Design and analysis of RTGs for GRAF and cassini missions. In Proceedings of the 8th Symposium on space nuclear power systems, Pt. 2, Albuquerque NM, 938-953... 

In the quest to explore space and find signs for extraferresfial life, the Cassini mission was launched in 1997 to reach Saturn in 2004. The spacecraft has been orbiting this planet ever since, exploring its surroundings, including its moons. In the photo shown. Earth is an invisible spec in the top left quadrant. 

Optical design of the Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) for the Cassini Mission. In Space Astronomical Telescopes and Instruments II, SPIE Proceedings, 1945, 100-11, Orlando, FL. 

BARNEY CONRATH was affiliated to the Goddard Space Flight Center from 1960 until 1995 and is currently a visiting faculty member in the Cornell University Center for Radiophysics and Space Research. His research interests include the study of the thermal structure, composition, and d5mamics of planetary atmospheres. He has participated in spacecraft missions to the Earth, Mars, and the outer planets, and is currently a member of the infrared spectrometer teams on the Mars Global Surveyor and Cassini missions. 

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