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The Cassini probe is preparing to make it's first encounter of 2008 with a flyby around Titan, a moon of Saturn. On January 5th, the probe will map Titan with it's visual and infrared spectrometers, mapping the Huygens probe's landing site.

This flyby also features two separate stellar occultations to study the structure of Titan's atmosphere. The spectrometer will be watching the star Alpha Bootes, and the ultraviolet imaging spectrograph will be pointed toward Alpha Lyra.

The Cassini spacecraft is the first to explore the Saturn system of rings and moons from orbit. Cassini-Huygens entered orbit on Jun. 30, 2004 and immediately began sending back data. The ESA's Huygens probe dove into Titan's thick atmosphere in January 2005.

Four NASA spacecraft have been sent to explore Saturn. Pioneer 11 was first to fly past Saturn in 1979. Voyager 1 flew past a year later, followed by its twin, Voyager 2, in 1981.