On 14 January 2005, after an interplanetary journey of more than seven years, the European Space Agency's Huygens probe landed on Titan, the largest moon of the planet Saturn. The mission was a tremendous success that exceeded expectations when it continued to feedback data hours after landing on this inhospitable environment. Not much was known about Titan until then. What about now? What was seen and heard on Titan? And how much do we still not know?

Come and join the discussion with Professor John Zarnecki, the Principal Investigator for the Surface Science Package on Huygens., who will describe the journey of the Huygens probe and its dramatic plunge to the surface, as well as present some early results.

On 2 May at 5 pm in Wilde Veranda, Tartu.

John Zarnecki is Professor of Space Science in the Planetary Sciences Research Institute at The Open University. He studied physics at Cambridge University and received his PhD in X-ray astronomy from University College London. His main research interests are the development of spacecraft instruments for the study of the properties of the surface and atmospheres of planets, satellites, and minor bodies. Other research areas include hypervelocity impact studies in various applications, including the survivability of bacteria in such impacts and X-ray emission from solar system surfaces and atmospheres and impacts on the Moon.