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When the Cassini spacecraft dropped a probe onto Saturn’s moon Titan, it bounced, slid, and wobbled to rest 10 seconds after it landed.

Studying data from the probe’s landing is helping scientists understand the nature of Titan’s surface.

“It is like snow that has frozen on top,” says Erich Karkoschka of the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. “If you walk carefully, you can walk as on a solid surface, but if you step on the snow a little too hard, you break in very deeply.”

See the rocky landing from the probe’s perspective:

Full story at Futurity.

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