Today is mission control Monday, January 14th, 2005 — Huygens date with destiny.
It is a big day in Darmstadt, Germany, the headquarters of the European Space Agency. Their contribution to this deep space mission is epic, and they have tasked their Huygens space probe, a billion miles from Earth, to perform a most daring lunar plunge.
The atmosphere at mission control is like a maternity ward as anxious scientists await communication from Huygens before it is to hurtle through space at 20,000 miles an hour to enter Titan's atmosphere at a speed of seven kilometres a second.
So no wonder the atmosphere back in Germany is a jittery one. If Huygens were to perish, the 15 years spent building this atmospheric space probe could be cremated in the clouds of Titan.
But then, thanks to one of the largest telescopes on Earth, Huygens relayed a tiny signal. Sighs of relief ensued, and using the words of ESA planetary scientist, Jean-Pierre Lebreton, turned to the media to say;
"It looks like we have heard the baby crying."
The probe was alive and well. DATA was now coming through, but Huygens still had to survive the landing.
And this is where these spectacular space scenes deserve a soundtrack.
Using powerful and persuasive symphonic forces, we can re-live that exciting chapter again in Titan's story as the music transports us back to those hair raising titanic adventures where a fanfare atmosphere accompanies Huygen's grandest assignment.
Choir takes the role of "capcom", updating Huygens's every move and communicating back to mission control. These are nail-biting moments, and the music reflects the tension in the air as scientists navigate the sequences of events a billion miles away.
Will Huygens become vaporized ?
Or deliver a historic landing?
Will it burst through stubborn clouds?
Greeted by cheers and ovations standing?
Click the Video below to hear this story play out in the Symphony
III - Movement TITAN "Mission Control and Huygen's date with destiny
For Titan's complete story, grab your galactic seat and click on the image below to be transported to the wonders of Titan.
The European Space Agency's Huygens probe appears shining as it coasts away from Cassini in this close-up of an image taken on Dec. 26, 2004, just two days after it successfully detached from the Cassini spacecraft.
Dr Linda Spilker, Amanda Lee Falkenberg, Dr Tom Spilker and Dr Jean-Pierre Lebreeton - 2019 EPSC Geneva
Click on image above to watch the Cassini-Huygens ESOC Darmstadt Live show 14-01-2005