The Cassini spacecraft, launched towards Saturn in 1997, is considered one of the most successful space exploration missions in NASA’s history. The last two decades have provided huge amounts of data and images. As the mission approaches its final days, it promises to deliver even greater drama.
The Cassini Spacecraft Reported One Dive Down, 21 to Go
Cassini has been exploring Saturn’s rings, its moons, and the planet itself for nearly two decades. The final journey for the aging spacecraft will be certainly its most exciting. Twenty-two diving maneuvers have been planned and plotted by NASA engineers. These dives will take the craft closer to the planet than ever before.
They will do so as Cassini dips between its outer atmosphere and its innermost rings.The first maneuver has been completed, and scientists are waiting to see the data. This takes about twenty hours to reach Earth from the spacecraft.
With each succeeding dive, NASA hopes to gain more information about the nature of Saturn’s rings. They will also try to establish what makes up the outer atmosphere of the planet. In the end, they’ll also take a look at what exists at its core.
These dives, however, are not without risk. Scientists studying Saturn exhausted a great deal of effort over the last few decades measuring and examining the planet’s majestic ring system. Most of their conclusions lead them to believe there is a gap of around 1,200-miles between the interior ring and the outer edge of Saturn’s atmosphere.
They are aiming for that space with each dive, hoping to gather data from both phenomena. Saturn’s rings are composed of ice, rock, and other materials held by the gas giant’s gravity. There is some fear that Cassini might strike a stray piece during the maneuvers. But the engineers are monitoring it as closely as they can to avoid potential catastrophe.
If all goes according to plan, the sturdy craft will make one final dive into the planet itself on September 15.