Astronomy - Picture of the Day
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2017 January 25
Cassini's Grand Finale Tour at Saturn
Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech
Explanation: Cassini is being prepared to dive into Saturn. The
robotic spacecraft that has been orbiting and exploring Saturn for over a decade will
end its mission in September with a spectacular atmospheric plunge.
Pictured here is a diagram of
Cassini's remaining orbits, each taking about one week.
Cassini is scheduled to complete a few months of orbits that will take it just outside Saturn's outermost
ring F. Then, in April,
Titan will give
Cassini a gravitational pull into Proximal orbits, the last of which, on September 15, will impact Saturn and
cause the spacecraft to implode and melt. Cassini's Grand Finale orbits are designed to
record data and first-ever views from
inside the rings -- between the rings and planet -- as well as some
small moons interspersed in the rings. Cassini's demise is
designed to protect any life that may occur around
Saturn or its moons from
contamination by Cassini itself.
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