Titan sounds like a character in 'The Master's of the Universe' cartoon series. I imagine him as something of a cross between Superman and Spiderman. Strong and mysterious. Maximum chest hair. And the happy truth is that reality is mimicking fiction by achieving the Superhuman feat of landing the Huygens probe on that other 'Titan', one of the 31 moons so far found, the largest one, that orbits happily around the planet Saturn.

This mission has been a joint venture between NASA, ESA (European Space Agency) and that lesser known giant of exploring the unknown, the Italian Space Agency. The Italian Space Agency apparently had to decide between making designer handbags with the money, or funding a mission to the ringed planet. And I am sure that we are all glad that they plumped down on the side of space science. Handbags are after all no doubt fun. However, they are most certainly NOT interstellar bodies. If you speak Italian (the English version is still 'Under Construction') you will find the Italian Space Agency here

Titan is the largest of Saturn's moons. Indeed, it is the second largest moon in the solar system. Being larger than both Mercury and Pluto, which are planets! Scientists are particularly interested in Titan because it's one of the few known moons with its own dense atmosphere.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is named after two scientists who are indelibly linked with Saturn. Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695) was a Dutch Scientist who discovered Saturn's rings, and in 1655, Titan. Whilst Jean-Dominique Casini (1625-1712) was an Italian who discovered many of Saturns other satellites and also what is now known as the 'Cassini Division', which is the narrow gap seperating Saturn's Rings.

The mission was originally launched on the 15th October 1997 from Cape Canaveral in the United States. It had two main objectives. The first being for the Cassini spacecraft to orbit Saturn for four years, making an extensive survey of the planet and its moons. The Cassini Spacecreaft arrived at Saturn in July 2004 to start this process.

The second objective was to land a probe on the surface of Titan. And in the process set a landmark of being the first spacecraft to land on a world in the outer Solar System. Also because the atmosphere of Titan is thought by scientists to possibly resemble an early Earth, it is hoped that collecting the data will provide valuable clues as to our own origins, and how life began on Earth.

The Huygens probe landed on Titan on the 14th Jan 2005; pumping back data during its two and a half hour descent to the surface, and for a further 90 minutes when it reached the surface itself. Everything went to plan and the scientists involved in the mission are extremely happy at this major success for a predominantly European Space Agency mission.

I take my hat off to you Ladies and Gentleman!

Here are some fantastic images of Titan that we already have!