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Illustration of the Cassini-Huygens space probe between Saturn's rings. The Cassini-Huygens mission was a joint project between NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), the ESA (European Space Agency) and the ASI (Italian Space Agency). It consisted of the Cassini orbiter and the Huygens probe, which were launched from Earth on 15 October 1997. Huygens separated from Cassini on 25 December 2004 and descended to the surface of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, on 14 January 2005. During its 2.5-hour descent, it provided a detailed study of Titan's atmosphere. Meanwhile, Cassini spent the next 13 years exploring the Saturnian system, including the planet, its moons and its rings. It returned numerous images and observations, leading to many new discoveries. The mission ended on its 293rd orbit of Saturn, as Cassini made a final dive into Saturn's atmosphere on 15 September 2017