Cassini Approaches Saturn
			
		
		
		
			Cassini, a 
robot spacecraft 
launched in 1997 by 
NASA, 
is close enough now to resolve many 
rings and 
moons of its destination planet: 
Saturn.  
The spacecraft has closed to about two 
Earth-Sun separations from the 
ringed giant.
Last month, 
Cassini snapped several images during an engineering test.  
These images have been combined into the contrast-enhanced color composite 
pictured above. 
Saturn's rings and 
cloud-tops are visible on the far right, while 
Titan, its largest moon, is visible as the speck on the lower left.  
When arriving at Saturn in July 2004, the 
Cassini orbiter will begin to circle and study 
the Saturnian system.  
Several months later, a 
probe named Huygens will separate and attempt to land on the 
surface of Titan.