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OVERVIEW
The Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations (CICLOPS) is the nerve center for the imaging team of the Cassini mission to Saturn. All images produced by the two powerful telescopic cameras onboard Cassini (the Imaging Science Subsystem) make their way across more than a billion kilometers of space to be archived by CICLOPS and made available to researchers across the globe.

CICLOPS also is the home of activities related to the planning of images to be taken by Cassini. Staff work with the spacecraft’s flight plan to optimize the imaging opportunities (and thus the scientific return) at Saturn, capturing the planet, its icy moons and dazzling rings.

Finally, images taken by Cassini are selected for release to the public at CICLOPS. Chosen images are processed to ensure quality and visibility of features. The final products are sent to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which manages the Cassini mission. CICLOPS also maintains a web site that showcases all of these fascinating views from Saturn.

CASSINI / SATURN RESEARCH
Led by Carolyn Porco, the Cassini Imaging Team moved its headquarters to SSI in August 2003. Fourteen scientists from the United States and Europe comprise the imaging team that use Cassini’s cameras to investigate many unique features of the Saturn system. The Imaging Team continues to publish findings from their investigations, deepening our knowledge about Saturn and the processes by which planetary systems form and develop with time.

Cassini arrived at Saturn on July 1, 2004, to begin a four-year, in-depth exploration of the ringed planet, its mysterious moons, stunning rings, and complex magnetic environment. The mother ship released the Huygens probe, which descended through the thick atmosphere of the mysterious moon Titan to land softly on its surface.

During the primary Saturn tour, Cassini will complete 74 orbits of the ringed planet, 44 close flybys of Titan and numerous flybys of Saturn's other icy moons.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C.