Cassini-Huygens is a spacecraft mission to which planet and its satellites?
Cassini–Huygens Cassini–Huygens The Cassini–Huygens mission ( ), commonly called Cassini, was a collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Italian Space Agency (ASI) to send a probe to study the planet Saturn and its system, including its rings and natural satellites. The Flagship-class robotic spacecraft comprised both NASA's "Cassini" probe, and ESA's "Huygens" lander which landed on Saturn's largest moon, Titan. "Cassini" was the fourth space probe to visit Saturn and the first to enter its orbit. The craft were named after astronomers Giovanni Cassini and Christiaan Huygens. Launched aboard a Titan IVB/Centaur on October 15, 1997, "Cassini"
Cassini–Huygens newfound spirit of cooperation with Europe was driven by a sense of competition with the Soviet Union, which had begun to cooperate more closely with Europe as ESA drew further away from NASA. Late in 1988, ESA chose Cassini–Huygens as its next major mission and the following year the program received major funding in the US. The collaboration not only improved relations between the two space programs but also helped "Cassini–Huygens" survive congressional budget cuts in the United States. "Cassini–Huygens" came under fire politically in both 1992 and 1994, but NASA successfully persuaded the United States Congress that it would