The genesis of Cassini-Huygens

The personal reminiscences of the early days of Cassini-Huygens mission and the involvement of three main people in this program are discussed. It is found that a number of American and European space physicists played a key role at different stages in the study and planning of the Cassini mission. The mission also depicted how the design of the Galileo atmospheric probe could also be modified to perform the Titan atmospheric measurements and how a radar mapper could be used to survey the landscape below the optically thick atmosphere. The space physicists involved with the mission include Len Fisk, Marcia Neugebauer, Don Gurnett and Mike Bird.