The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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Huygens will be the first spacecraft to land on a world in the outer Solar System. In January 2005, it will land on the surface of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, and the only moon in the Solar System to possess a thick atmosphere. The Huygens data may offer clues about how life began on Earth. Huygens is currently in space, hitching a ride on NASA’s Cassini mission, which was launched by a Titan IVB/Centaur rocket on 15 October 1997. In an artist’s illustration, Huygens is here seen in the lower right corner while approaching the reddish/blue Titan moon below. Cassini is illustrated closer to Saturn.