Cue The Big Black Things From 2001

Yeah. I know. Wrong planet. Wrong moon. But it's still way the hell out in the middle of nowhere, so the analogy fits.

DARMSTADT, Germany - A European space probe has landed on the surface of Saturn's moon Titan after a seven-year journey, a space official said Friday, buoying hopes that the mission could shed light on the origins of life on Earth.

Mission controllers were confident the Huygens probe made a soft landing by parachute because it was transmitting steadily long after it was to have landed, said David Southwood, the European Space Agency's science director.

"We know that it has landed based on the laws of gravity," Southwood said. "It simply cannot still be flying. It's got to be on a solid surface, and it must be soft."

Southwood later announced that the probe had relayed scientific data — expected to include pictures and atmospheric measurements — to the Cassini mother ship orbiting Saturn and the information had been transmitted back to Earth.

Applause erupted at mission control in Darmstadt in western Germany at news of the data transmission. The data are expected to shed light on what Titan's atmosphere and surface are made of — and possibly on the origins of life on Earth.

"The scientific data we are collecting now shall unveil the secrets of this new world," said Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA's general director. "This is a fantastic success for Europe." {...}

Yeah. Well done, Europe. And I sincerely mean that.

Can't wait to see the pictures.

And I'll betcha anything that those big black thingys will be all over the place.