Cassini: The Finale

Cassini: The Finale

Saturn: Cassini, NASA

Voyager 1, Voyager 2, and Pioneer 11 have all passed by Saturn in the past, but no other spacecraft has revealed to us more information about Saturn than Cassini and its pal the Hyugens Probe. Cassini was the first probe to initiate an in depth look at Saturn and became the first probe to orbit the planet. We have discovered many things about Saturn's rings, the constantly changing magnetosphere,  and Titan's surface, just to name a few. To me, the most exciting discoveries to be made lie within Saturn itself and many more to find on the surface of it's amazing moon Titan. This is where the Hyugens Probe comes in to play. This probe was launched onto Titan's surface in 2005.

Huygens Probe: NASA

Since the Cassini mission began, it has seen two mission extensions which allowed for more flybys. The first extension was a two year mission called Cassini Equinox mission. This mission allowed Cassini to orbit Saturn and show us brilliant displays of Saturn's rings that were never before seen. The second extension was a seven year long extension called the  Cassini Solstice Mission. This mission will be concluded with a phase called The Grande Finale. The Grande Finale is characterized by 22 dives between Saturn's cloud tops and innermost ring before it goes dives into the planets atmosphere.

Cassini Launch: NASA

Sadly, every mission has to come to an end, this mission particularly due to a dwindling fuel supply and other factors. So before Cassini plunges to its demise, we can take a look at some of Cassini's notable achievements throughout its  20 year lifespan. Cassini was launched October 15th, 1997. The trip to Saturn took nearly 7 years to complete. Since Cassini's launch, the spacecraft has analyzed, studied, and captured some pretty amazing things. Cassini joined the Galileo spacecraft in December 2000, giving scientists more information about the Jupiter system. 3 months prior to arriving to Saturn, Cassini discovered 2 new moons on May 31st 2004 bringing the total count to 60 moons. After becoming the first craft to orbit Saturn, nearly 4 months later, Cassini's lenses pointed towards Titan and began studying the atmosphere and in 2005, the Huygens probe makes it safely to Titan's surface, revealing extraordinary information about the moon. Cassini discovered that most of the material in Saturn's E ring is composed of particles emanating from a moon named Enceladus and soon after that finding, we discovered that Enceladus has liquid water on the surface shooting from geysers, lakes on Titan. Cassini is an amazing craft, all of the findings were discovered during the primary mission.

Cassini has provided information of the moons Titan and Enceladus. And with each pass, we learned more and more about the two moons. Enceladus has liquid water on it's surface, more than 100 geysers that shoot ice particles out into space, geologic activity, hydrogen gas leaking in to the surface oceans, and hydro-thermal activity on the ocean floor, which can be an energy source for life. Titan has small and large lakes and a Sea of methane. Titan is a very rocky moon with mountains that exceed heights of 10,000 feet.

Cassini is readying itself for the final phase of this mission, deemed the Grand Finale. During this phase of the mission, Cassini will orbit closer to the planet than ever before during any other mission - diving between the planet and it's rings. This will help us learn about the region between the planet and it's rings and learn about the upper atmosphere of Saturn. According to NASA, Cassini will gather information that was too risky to gather during the early parts of the mission. Data such as Saturn's gravity, magnetic fields, internal geology, how fast the planet is rotating, new information about the ring system, icy particles in Saturn's atmosphere, and ultra close pictures of Saturn's rings and clouds.

Cassini's Path during ring dive: NASA

Everything Cassini finds will be beamed back to Earth, but there is still the question as to why scientists at NASA have decided bring Cassini to an end. Rocket fuel used to navigate Cassini over its 7 year journey and nearly 13 year orbit around Saturn, is running low. If Cassini's mission is not brought to an end, we will be unable to adjust it's course later on which could end in colliding into one of Saturn's moons. In order to avoid the possibility of the collision with a moon, NASA has decided to dispose of Cassini in Saturn's atmosphere. It is my understanding that once Cassini enters Saturn's atmosphere, much like when something enters Earth's atmosphere, it will burn up like an asteroid or meteorite. Cassini will be collecting data of Saturn until the end. Disposing of Cassini in this manner will allow us to preserve and protect the possible life harbingers Titan and Enceladus. 

Thanks to Cassini, we were able to view Saturn in ways never seen before. We have been able to study the composition and temperature of Saturn's upper atmosphere, and Cassini has provided us with live and up close pictures of Saturn's beautiful storms, we learned that there are seven year seasons, and we learned a lot about it's beautiful moons. In the 13 years Cassini orbited Saturn, we have learned more than we possibly ever will about Saturn.

Godspeed Cassini.

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