Cassini spacecraft. Cassini, a spacecraft designed to explore Saturn, during tests in a space simula- tor. Cassini has been placed in a vacuum chamber whilst the heating effect of the Sun is simulated using light from powerful lamps. The gold-coloured insulating blanket wrapped around Cassini is made of an amber-coloured material on top of a reflect- ive aluminium-coated fabric. Cassini will orbit Saturn for 4 years, & will study the planet, its rings, & its moons; it will also release the Huy- gens probe (not seen here). Photographed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, USA, during January 1997. Cassini will be launched in October 1997 and is expected to reach Saturn in July 2004.