It took a few hours for hundreds of years of scientific study to be surpassed with a splat in the hydrocarbon mud on Jan. 14.

Titan, the moon of Saturn and the second largest moon in our solar system, has been the target of a seven year odyssey by the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft.

Huygens, the small probe that landed on Titan, was piggybacked on the Cassini orbiter, which launched in 1997.

The project was a joint NASA, European Space Agency and Italian Space Agency effort. NASA operates Cassini and the ESA operated Huygens during the ongoing mission.

Titan has long been the subject of scientific scrutiny and speculation.

“I know why it’s so interesting,” said physics professor David Hedin. “Some planets have an atmosphere and some don’t.”

Titan’s dense, nitrogen-rich atmosphere makes it the object in our solar system most similar to Earth, Hedin said.

“[It] looks a lot like Earth’s atmosphere 4 billion years ago,” he said.

Observatory Manager Andrew Morrison agreed with Hedin.

By looking at the geology and atmosphere of Titan, scientists could learn things about the early Earth, he said.

Titan’s status as the only known moon with an atmosphere has also added to scientific intrigue, Morrison said.

Huygens returned images that confirmed speculation of liquid methane on Titan’s surface.

Surface temperatures on Titan are very cold, Hedin said. Methane, a gas on Earth, can exist as a gas or liquid on Titan.

Although humans may never explore Titan in person, robotics offer an alternative method of exploration.

“[It is] much, much easier to develop robotic technology then to send humans,” Hedin said. “If you don’t put people in space, you don’t have to worry about them dying.”

NASA officials offered congratulations to the ESA on their success with the Huygens probe.

NASA spokeswoman Carolina Martinez said NASA congratulated colleagues at the ESA on the success of the Huygens mission.

On Jan. 14, NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe said, “The descent through Titan’s atmosphere and down to its surface appeared to be perfect.”