Cassini Probe make flyby of Phoebe (9th moon of Saturn)

Ma Deuce · Post by **Ma Deuce** » 2004-06-11 02:22pm

Linky

Well, today is an important milestone for the Cassini mission, has made it's first close pass of an object in the Saturnian system. Early next month it will acheive orbit around Saturn.

In your face, stupid anti-nuke activists!!

.

Gil Hamilton · Post by **Gil Hamilton** » 2004-06-11 03:38pm

Awesome. Beware Saturnians! A machine from Earth has arrived to take photos of your worlds (and naked shots of your celebrities if we can manage it)!

Burak Gazan · Post by **Burak Gazan** » 2004-06-11 05:14pm

Cassin-Huygens Home Page

Here too

Looking good so far, pics from the flyby tomorrow hopefully

Sarevok · Post by **Sarevok** » 2004-06-12 01:50am

In your face, stupid anti-nuke activists!!

Well I cant see any reason for opposing the use of nuclear power in space. Space is already filled with radiation. So there is no risk of contaminating space.

Mayabird · Post by **Mayabird** » 2004-06-12 02:09am

I can't wait until Huygens drops into Titan's atmosphere. I keep wondering what it'll see. Hydrocarbon oceans, maybe?

"Yes Mr. President, oceans of oil on the largest moon of Saturn."

I remember all the protests prior to the launch. I thought the same thing then that I do now. Anti-nuke activists are just stupid.

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2004-06-12 02:13am

evilcat4000 wrote:
In your face, stupid anti-nuke activists!!
Well I cant see any reason for opposing the use of nuclear power in space. Space is already filled with radiation. So there is no risk of contaminating space.

The argument (besides the general "nukes are evil!" core) is that if the rocket should explode on takeoff, or the spacecraft malfunctions and re-enters Earth's atmosphere, that such an incident would contaminate large portions of the Earth with ZOMG RADIATION.

Ma Deuce · Post by **Ma Deuce** » 2004-06-12 10:21am

Uraniun235 wrote:The argument (besides the general "nukes are evil!" core) is that if the rocket should explode on takeoff, or the spacecraft malfunctions and re-enters Earth's atmosphere, that such an incident would contaminate large portions of the Earth with ZOMG RADIATION.

It wasn't only during takeoff they were ranting about. In 1998, the Cassini probe had to make at a flyby of Earth to use it's gravity to help "slingshot" it onto it's way to Saturn. Just before the time of the flyby, the anti-nuke activists, believing the probe could accidently crash into Earth and "contaminate millions of people", called upon NASA to re-direct the probe, in other words, they wanted NASA to scrap a mission that already had $1 billion poured into it.

Solauren · Post by **Solauren** » 2004-06-12 10:33am

Mayabird wrote:I can't wait until Huygens drops into Titan's atmosphere. I keep wondering what it'll see. Hydrocarbon oceans, maybe?

"Yes Mr. President, oceans of oil on the largest moon of Saturn."

I remember all the protests prior to the launch. I thought the same thing then that I do now. Anti-nuke activists are just stupid.

Humor aside, on the plus side, imagine the money they'd pump into the space program to go get that oil

Gil Hamilton · Post by **Gil Hamilton** » 2004-06-12 03:04pm

Solauren wrote:Humor aside, on the plus side, imagine the money they'd pump into the space program to go get that oil

Kind of pointless. By the time we get to that hydrocarbon ocean, if it exists, we'll have something better.

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2004-06-12 03:13pm

Hydrocarbons aren't just used for fuel - they're used in plastics and other materials too.

Sarevok · Post by **Sarevok** » 2004-06-13 12:50am

Solauren wrote:
Mayabird wrote:I can't wait until Huygens drops into Titan's atmosphere. I keep wondering what it'll see. Hydrocarbon oceans, maybe?

"Yes Mr. President, oceans of oil on the largest moon of Saturn."

I remember all the protests prior to the launch. I thought the same thing then that I do now. Anti-nuke activists are just stupid.
Humor aside, on the plus side, imagine the money they'd pump into the space program to go get that oil

Hydrocarbon would be useless on Titan since there is no oxygen to burn it there. And transporting hydrocarbon to Earth would be too much expensive. Most importantly by the time we have the technology to reach Titan we would have much better power sources that hydrocarbon.

Mayabird · Post by **Mayabird** » 2004-06-13 01:09am

evilcat4000 wrote: Hydrocarbon would be useless on Titan since there is no oxygen to burn it there. And transporting hydrocarbon to Earth would be too much expensive. Most importantly by the time we have the technology to reach Titan we would have much better power sources that hydrocarbon.

Shhh...don't give away my plans for tricking the government out of billions to fund my space exploration schemes.

Icehawk · Post by **Icehawk** » 2004-06-13 02:56am

Heh, I remember way back in 1997 when they first launched this. I was in Grade 10 at the time and I was in the school library reading the Popular Mechanics article on it. I remember thinking "Man this is gonna kick so much ass....... WHAT! a seven fucking year journey!?"

At the time it seemed like would take forever (I was 15 then and 22 seemed like a century away) but now that its finally coming the time seems to have just flown right by.

Good luck to NASA and high hopes for some kickass scientific discoveries.

Burak Gazan · Post by **Burak Gazan** » 2004-06-13 06:45pm

evilcat4000 wrote:
Solauren wrote:
Mayabird wrote:I can't wait until Huygens drops into Titan's atmosphere. I keep wondering what it'll see. Hydrocarbon oceans, maybe?

"Yes Mr. President, oceans of oil on the largest moon of Saturn."

I remember all the protests prior to the launch. I thought the same thing then that I do now. Anti-nuke activists are just stupid.
Humor aside, on the plus side, imagine the money they'd pump into the space program to go get that oil
Hydrocarbon would be useless on Titan since there is no oxygen to burn it there. And transporting hydrocarbon to Earth would be too much expensive. Most importantly by the time we have the technology to reach Titan we would have much better power sources that hydrocarbon.

As Cassini approaches the system, I find myself re-reading "Imperial Earth" by Arthur C. Clarke -- with the main characters set against the backdrop of the hydrogen economy based on Titan

Never ceases to amaze me the little things in his fiction that resonate in reality (a lost Saturn-exploration spacecraft was the "Challenger"

and this was written in 1976...)

Burak Gazan · Post by **Burak Gazan** » 2004-06-13 09:52pm

Saturn's moon Phoebe revealed in stunning detail

Wow

This mission is off to a fantastic start!

Sarevok · Post by **Sarevok** » 2004-06-14 12:09am

Lets hope nothing goes wrong with Cassini. It is still six months till Huygens land on Titan.

CaptainChewbacca · Post by **CaptainChewbacca** » 2004-06-14 01:06am

Burak Gazan wrote:
evilcat4000 wrote:
Solauren wrote: Humor aside, on the plus side, imagine the money they'd pump into the space program to go get that oil
Hydrocarbon would be useless on Titan since there is no oxygen to burn it there. And transporting hydrocarbon to Earth would be too much expensive. Most importantly by the time we have the technology to reach Titan we would have much better power sources that hydrocarbon.

As Cassini approaches the system, I find myself re-reading "Imperial Earth" by Arthur C. Clarke -- with the main characters set against the backdrop of the hydrogen economy based on Titan Never ceases to amaze me the little things in his fiction that resonate in reality (a lost Saturn-exploration spacecraft was the "Challenger" and this was written in 1976...)

OMG!!! That is one of my all-time favorite science fiction books! Its one of the things that inspired me to go into planetary geology, I even did my undergraduate thesis about a proposed follow-up mission to the Cassini which would employ two landers and look for life.

I've been looking forward to this mission being completed since it launched. A long time to wait.

P.S.
Coolness: The Cassini lander will have a microphone and be able to record and transmit sounds. Will we hear the pitter-patter of rain? The crash of waves? Tune in in January.

Col. Crackpot · Post by **Col. Crackpot** » 2004-06-14 07:27am

Phoebe. what a stupid fucking name for a planetary body. Why not just name the next thing we discover Sally or Pedro or friggin' Achmed. Because we've obviously run the creative well of names dry if people are naming moons Phoebe.

Sarevok · Post by **Sarevok** » 2004-06-14 07:34am

Phoebe is actualy a pretty good name. There is another moon called Phobos.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2004-06-14 08:19am

They can't all be named after cool gods.

Col. Crackpot · Post by **Col. Crackpot** » 2004-06-14 10:17am

Admiral Valdemar wrote:They can't all be named after cool gods.

true, but Phoebe? Thats just one step away from naming a planet Bob.

Burak Gazan · Post by **Burak Gazan** » 2004-06-14 10:55am

Col. Crackpot wrote:
Admiral Valdemar wrote:They can't all be named after cool gods.
true, but Phoebe? Thats just one step away from naming a planet Bob.

How about naming a moon "puck" ?

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2004-06-14 11:52am

Col. Crackpot wrote:
Admiral Valdemar wrote:They can't all be named after cool gods.
true, but Phoebe? Thats just one step away from naming a planet Bob.

Why am I seeing a scene from Titan AE right now?

Col. Crackpot · Post by **Col. Crackpot** » 2004-06-14 12:00pm

Stormbringer wrote:
Col. Crackpot wrote:
Admiral Valdemar wrote:They can't all be named after cool gods.
true, but Phoebe? Thats just one step away from naming a planet Bob.
Why am I seeing a scene from Titan AE right now?

never saw it. care to enlighten me?

CaptainChewbacca · Post by **CaptainChewbacca** » 2004-06-14 12:21pm

Col. Crackpot wrote:
Stormbringer wrote:
Col. Crackpot wrote: true, but Phoebe? Thats just one step away from naming a planet Bob.
Why am I seeing a scene from Titan AE right now?
never saw it. care to enlighten me?

At the end of the movie, they make a new earth. The girl wants to call it "earth" but the guy wants to call it "planet Bob".

And you know, Phoebe fits the naming convention, its not named after Lisa Kudrow or something.

Here's some fun names in our Solar System:
Umbriel
1985U1
Amalthea
Mimas

They can't all be "Hyperion" and "Ganymede".

StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Cassini Probe make flyby of Phoebe (9th moon of Saturn)

Cassini Probe make flyby of Phoebe (9th moon of Saturn)

~!