Cassini Huygens Mission to Saturn By mitha_mathavan Aug 17, 1997 Launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Period: Aug 17, 1997 to Sep 15, 2017 Saturn mission Apr 26, 1998 The spacecraft passes Venus for the first time. The spacecraft passes Venus for the first time. Jun 24, 1999 It travels past Venus again. Aug 17, 1999 It passes Earth for the first time. Dec 30, 2000 Starts a 6 month orbit and study of Jupiter. Jun 30, 2004 Cassini arrives at Saturn and begins to pass Titan and other moons. Dec 24, 2004 The Huygens probe is released on to Titan. Jan 15, 2005 Titan is revealed to be very similar to Earth in terms of structure. Jul 22, 2005 Lakes are found on the surface of Titan. Sep 15, 2005 More lightly coloured rings are discovered when Saturn is backlit by the Sun. Jun 2, 2008 The original mission is finished, so an extension mission is launched. Jul 31, 2008 It is proven that there is hydrocarbon in the water on Titan. Sep 12, 2010 The extension mission is completed, so 2nd extension mission begins. Dec 5, 2010 A huge storm approaches the northern region of Saturn, this later becomes the largest and most visible one seen on Saturn. Mar 10, 2012 A vortex (as in a whirling mass of air) is predicted to be forming in the South pole of Titan. Sep 9, 2015 Hopeful completion of the 2nd extension mission. Nov 30, 2016 The Cassini Huygens shuttle is predicted to start to orbit the outermost rings of Saturn. Apr 22, 2017 The shuttle is predicted to start to orbit around the closer rings to Saturn.
