These flags illustrate the international scope
of the Cassini program. A one-of-a-kind research and development
(R&D) effort, Cassini is the world's only science probe for
exploring the outer planets currently in progress. Although its
primary contributors are the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Italian Space
Agency (ASI), the Cassini team encompasses academic and industrial
partners in 33 states and 16 European nations. (All but two of
Cassini's European participants fall under jurisdiction of ESA,
a consortium of 14 member countries.)
Development of the Huygens Titan probe is managed
by the European Space Technology and Research Center (ESTEC),
and 14 European nations are participating in its technological
development. ESTEC will use a prime contractor in southern France,
with equipment supplied by many European countries; the probe's
batteries and two scientific instruments will come from the U.S.
Special systems on the probe, such as the thermal-protection system
and high-speed parachutes, have been developed specifically for
Cassini, ESA's first planetary atmospheric entry mission.
ASI is contributing the spacecraft's high-gain
antenna, as well as significant portions of three science instruments.
Communications with Cassini during the mission will be carried
out through stations of NASA's Deep Space Network in California,
Spain and Australia. In the U.S., the mission is managed by NASA's
Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, where the Cassini
orbiter is being designed and assembled. (P-43966)
