Cassini Begins Epic Final Year at Saturn

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Cassini Begins Epic Final Year at Saturn

Post by bystander » Fri Sep 16, 2016 3:58 pm

Cassini Begins Epic Final Year at Saturn
NASA | JPL-Caltech | Cassini | 2016 Sep 15
[c][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqXcXNUu1lg[/youtube]Four Days at Saturn -- Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute[/c][hr][/hr]
After more than 12 years studying Saturn, its rings and moons, NASA's Cassini spacecraft has entered the final year of its epic voyage. The conclusion of the historic scientific odyssey is planned for September 2017, but not before the spacecraft completes a daring two-part endgame.

Beginning on November 30, Cassini's orbit will send the spacecraft just past the outer edge of the main rings. These orbits, a series of 20, are called the F-ring orbits. During these weekly orbits, Cassini will approach to within 4,850 miles (7,800 kilometers) of the center of the narrow F ring, with its peculiar kinked and braided structure. ...

Cassini's final phase -- called the Grand Finale -- begins in earnest in April 2017. A close flyby of Saturn's giant moon Titan will reshape the spacecraft's orbit so that it passes through the gap between Saturn and the rings - an unexplored space only about 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) wide. The spacecraft is expected to make 22 plunges through this gap, beginning with its first dive on April 27.

During the Grand Finale, Cassini will make the closest-ever observations of Saturn, mapping the planet's magnetic and gravity fields with exquisite precision and returning ultra-close views of the atmosphere. Scientists also hope to gain new insights into Saturn's interior structure, the precise length of a Saturn day, and the total mass of the rings -- which may finally help settle the question of their age. The spacecraft will also directly analyze dust-sized particles in the main rings and sample the outer reaches of Saturn's atmosphere -- both first-time measurements for the mission. ...
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