Editing Cassini–Huygens (section)

== Overview ==
Scientists and individuals from 27 countries made up the joint team responsible for designing, building, flying and collecting data from the ''Cassini'' orbiter and the [[Huygens (spacecraft)|''Huygens'' probe]].<ref name=cassini.overview/>

[[NASA]]'s [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]] in the United States, where the orbiter was assembled, managed the mission. The [[European Space Research and Technology Centre]] developed ''Huygens''. The centre's prime contractor, [[Aérospatiale]] of France (part of [[Thales Alenia Space]] from 2005), assembled the probe with equipment and instruments supplied by many European countries (including ''Huygens''{{'}} batteries and two scientific instruments from the United States). The [[Italian Space Agency]] (ASI) provided the ''Cassini'' orbiter's [[directional antenna|high-gain radio antenna]], with the incorporation of a low-gain antenna (to ensure telecommunications with the Earth for the entire duration of the mission), a compact and lightweight [[radar]], which also used the high-gain antenna and served as a [[synthetic-aperture radar]], a [[radar altimeter]], a [[radiometer]], the [[radio science subsystem]] (RSS), and the [[visible spectrum|visible]]-channel portion VIMS-V of VIMS [[spectrometer]].<ref name=ASI-Cassini/>

[[NASA]] provided the VIMS infrared counterpart, as well as the Main Electronic Assembly, which included electronic sub-assemblies provided by [[CNES]] of France.{{r|MillerEA1996|ReiningerFM1994}}

On April 16, 2008, NASA announced a two-year extension of the funding for ground operations of this mission, at which point it was renamed the ''Cassini'' Equinox Mission.<ref name=NASA-20080415/>
It was extended again in February 2010 as the [[Cassini Solstice Mission|''Cassini'' Solstice Mission]].