Cassini-Huygens spacecraft. 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 was launched from Earth in 1997 took 7 years to reach Saturn and its moons. The Huygens probe separated from Cassini on 25th December 2004, and descended to the surface of Saturns largest moon, Titan, in early 2005. The heat shield successfully slowed down the probe and a parachute was used to safely bring it to the surface. It took various atmospheric measurements during its descent and studied the surface when it landed. The gold-coloured material is thermal insulation and foil, which protected the spacecraft during its journey.