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Cassini's Robot Lab Successfully Separates
toomanyairmiles writes "The BBC has an article indicating NASA's Cassini probe has successfully launched its robot lab on its three-week journey into the atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan. 'Such is the chemistry and temperature (-180C) on Titan that scientists suspect it may harbour lakes, even great seas, of methane or ethane.' Seemingly we have very little idea of what we'll find there: 'Even Cassini's remarkable instruments have struggled to get at the facts. Scientists can see dark and bright regions on the surface, but quite what they represent no one is really sure.'"
Now just imagine, however inhospitable the conditions sound to us, if that probe came back with images of a civilization or even an outpost (inhabited or abandoned/destroyed). That one piece of news would turn the whole world on its edge. Sometimes great discoveries come, when you're not really looking for them. 'If it is just us, it seems like an awful waste of space.' - Contact
Excellent artist's interpretation of what the seperation might look like
That "robot lab" is called Huygens, but I guess that's too difficult for /. submitters/editors to spell.
"Robot Lab"? WTF?!? Give some credit where it's due!
I know there must be a zillion reasons why they designed the Huygens probe mission the way they did, but to me it seems like a pity that it's only got enough battery life to operate for 30 minutes on the surface after it lands, assuming it doesn't sink in a hydrocarbon lake. It took 7 years to get there for only 30 minutes worth of surface obserations? The results it sends back from only 30 minutes worth of surface exploration will surely raise more questions than they answer, and since this is the last of the big-ticket planetary probes we're likely to see for decades to come it just doens't seem like a long enough window to operate. Weight probably had a lot to do with the decisions made. Batteries are heavy. That plus the uncertainty as to whether it will land on solid ground at all most likely drove the 30-minute mission requirement, but it still seems too short. I must be getting spoiled by the Mars rovers.