Data Release Calendar
    Cassini
Atlas III Product Search
    Select from Cassini
    Atlas III Tutorial
Online Data Volumes
    (includes downloadable zip files)
    ISS
    RADAR
    VIMS
    Cartographic Maps (no zip files)
Tutorials
    Cassini ISS Data Users' Guide
    Cassini RADAR Users' Guide
    How to Obtain Cassini Data
    Cassini Orbiter Image Viewer
    Cassini Isis Workshop
Photojournal
    Images from Cassini
Subscribe to the Data
    PDS Subscription Service
About the Mission
    JPL Saturn Home Page
    JPL Mission Overview
    Solar System Exploration
    NSSDC
    Views of the Solar System
About the Science
    Science Summary
About the Instruments
    All Cassini Instruments
    ISS
    RADAR
    VIMS

Cassini-Huygens

After a seven-year voyage that included four gravity-assist maneuvers, Cassini entered Saturn's orbit in July of 2004. It then began a four-year mission that included more than 70 orbits around the ringed planet and its moons. Cassini completed its initial four-year mission to explore the Saturn System in June 2008.
  The mission's extension, through September 2010, was named for the Saturnian equinox, which occured in August 2009 when the sun shone directly on the equator and then began to illuminate the northern hemisphere and the rings' northern face. Cassini observed seasonal changes brought by the changing sun angle on Saturn, the rings and moons, which were illuminated from the south during the mission's first four years.
  Turning a midsummer night's dream into reality, on September 28, 2010, NASA's Cassini spacecraft begins its new mission extension, the Cassini Solstice Mission. The mission extension will take Cassini a few months past Saturn's northern summer solstice (or midsummer) through September 2017. It will enable scientists to study seasonal changes and other long-term weather changes on Saturn and its moons.


Cassini Orbiter Instruments
  • CAPS - Cassini Plasma Spectrometer
  • CDA - Cosmic Dust Analyzer
  • CIRS - Composite Infrared Spectrometer
  • INMS - Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer
  • ISS - Imaging Science Subsystem
  • MAG - Magnetometer
  • MIMI - Magnetospheric Imaging Instrument
  • RADAR - a Radar instrument
  • RPWS - Radio and Plasme Wave Spectrometer
  • RSS - Radio Science Subsystem
  • UVIS - Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph
  • VIMS - Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer
  • SPICE - Navigation and Pointing information

The Imaging Node archives ISS, VIMS and RADAR science data. Visit the Atmospheres Node, lead archiving node for Cassini, for information about archive responsibilities for other instruments.
  The Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) consists of two fixed focal length telescopes, a wide-angle camera (WAC) and a narrow-angle camera (NAC). ISS data sets are produced by the Cassini Imaging Team at Space Science Institute, Boulder.
  The Radar instrument consists of a synthetic aperture radar imager (SAR), an altimeter, and a radiometer. Radar data sets a produced by the Radar Team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
  The Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer includes a pair of imaging grating spectrometers designed to measure reflected and emitted radiation. The VIMS data sets are produced by the VIMS Team at the University of Arizona, Tucson.

Mission Documents
  • Archive Plan
  • Mission Description
  • Spacecraft Description

Instrument and Data Archive Information
  • ISS
    • EDR Dataset Description
    • Ground and Flight Calibration Dataset Description
    • Mosaicked Image Data Records (Cartographic Map) Dataset Description
    • ISS-Narrow Angle Camera Instrument Description
    • ISS-Wide Angle Camera Instrument Description
    • Personnel
    • References
    • EDR Data Product SIS
    • Mosaicked Image Data Records (Cartographic Map) Product SIS
    • EDR Archive Volume SIS
    • Mosaicked Image Data Record (Cartographic Map) Archive Volume SIS
    • Calibration Software User Guide
    • In-Flight Calibration Guide
    • Calibration Theoretical Basis
    • Calibration Report
      • VIMS
        • EDR Dataset Description
        • Instrument Description
        • Personnel
        • References
        • EDR Data Product SIS
        • Archive Volume SIS
          • RADAR
            • BIDR (Titan Gridded Map Product ) Dataset Description
            • Altimeter Burst Data Record (ABDR) Dataset Description
            • Altimeter Burst Data Record (ABDR) Summary Dataset Description
            • Long Burst Data Record (LBDR) Dataset Description
            • Short Burst Data Record (SBDR) Dataset Description
            • Instrument Description
            • Personnel
            • References
            • BIDR Data Product SIS
            • BODP (covers ABDR, LBDR, SBDR) Data Product SIS
            • Archive Volume SIS