The Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT) of the National Radio-astronomy Observatory in West Virginia, USA, a part of the global network of radio telescopes involved in tracking the Huygens Titan probe, has detected the probe’s ‘carrier’ (tone) signal.The detection occurred between 11:20 and 11:25 CET, shortly after the probe began its parachute descent through Titan’s atmosphere. The extremely feeble signal was first picked up by the Radio Science Receiver supplied by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This signal is an important indication that the Huygens probe is ‘alive’. However, it does not contain yet any substance; the latter is expected to come a few hours later via the Cassini spacecraft.
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