Planets and Moons  ID: 11323

Musical Descent

Story by Kayvon Sharghi Released on August 22, 2013
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Hear a robotic probe sing as it falls through the sky of Saturn’s moon Titan.
On unexplored worlds, the sound of science is a harmonious melody of chimes, clicks and mechanical whirrs. At least that’s how one scientist interpreted the January 2005 descent and landing of the European Space Agency’s Huygens probe on Titan. As the 700-pound probe parachuted to the surface, two onboard imaging instruments provided by NASA captured views of the moon’s cloud-filled atmosphere and dusty terrain. In total, about 3,500 images were collected and transmitted to Earth via Cassini, a spacecraft that ferried the probe to Titan and stayed within radio contact during the three-and-a-half-hour mission. Back on Earth, a time-lapse video was assembled from the images. As a bonus, a member of the instrument team added sounds to the video that represent the probe’s motion, transmission strength and its dual imaging instruments at work. The result? Watch the video to see for yourself.
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The blocks of color that flash across the observation window represent image and spectral acquisitions taken by the probe's instruments.
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Huygens captured this aerial view of Titan from an altitude of 33,000 feet.
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A photo of a footprint taken during one of the Apollo moon landings is shown to scale beside an image of Titan's surface.
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Sunlight casts a ring around Titan in this nightside view of Saturn's largest moon.

Story Credits

Lead Writer:
Kayvon Sharghi (USRA)

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Cover image courtesy of ESA/NASA/JPL
Video courtesy of ESA/NASA/JPL/University of Arizona/Erich Karkoschka
Titan image courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11323

Keywords:
SVS >> App
NASA Science >> Planets and Moons