Cassini's Last Hurrah

[saturno2]

And you, saturno2, are a poet.

Rob

Thanks, Rob.
But, I´m only an amateur of Literature

[bystander]

Cassini Makes its 'Goodbye Kiss' Flyby of Titan
NASA | JPL-Caltech | Cassini | 2017 Sep 11

Cassini made its final, distant flyby of Saturn's moon Titan on Sept. 11, which set the spacecraft on its final dive toward the planet. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

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NASA's Cassini spacecraft is headed toward its Sept. 15 plunge into Saturn, following a final, distant flyby of the planet's giant moon Titan.

The spacecraft made its closest approach to Titan today at 12:04 p.m. PDT (3:04 p.m. EDT), at an altitude of 73,974 miles (119,049 kilometers) above the moon's surface. The spacecraft is scheduled to make contact with Earth on Sept. 12 at about 6:19 p.m. PDT (9:19 p.m. EDT). Images and other science data taken during the encounter are expected to begin streaming to Earth soon after. Navigators will analyze the spacecraft's trajectory following this downlink to confirm that Cassini is precisely on course to dive into Saturn at the planned time, location and altitude.

This distant encounter is referred to informally as "the goodbye kiss" by mission engineers, because it provides a gravitational nudge that sends the spacecraft toward its dramatic ending in Saturn's upper atmosphere. The geometry of the flyby causes Cassini to slow down slightly in its orbit around Saturn. This lowers the altitude of its flight over the planet so that the spacecraft goes too deep into Saturn's atmosphere to survive, because friction with the atmosphere will cause Cassini to burn up. ...

[neufer]

[b][color=#0000FF]The Goodbye Kiss (2006)[/color][/b]

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Cassini Makes its 'Goodbye Kiss' Flyby of Titan
NASA | JPL-Caltech | Cassini | 2017 Sep 11

This distant encounter is referred to informally as "the goodbye kiss" by mission engineers, because it provides a gravitational nudge that sends the spacecraft toward its dramatic ending in Saturn's upper atmosphere. The geometry of the flyby causes Cassini to slow down slightly in its orbit around Saturn. This lowers the altitude of its flight over the planet so that the spacecraft goes too deep into Saturn's atmosphere to survive, because friction with the atmosphere will cause Cassini to burn up. ...

[bystander]

Cassini Makes Its Final Approach to Saturn
NASA | JPL-Caltech | Cassini | 2017 Sep 13

Milestones in Cassini's final dive toward Saturn. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

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NASA's Cassini spacecraft is on final approach to Saturn, following confirmation by mission navigators that it is on course to dive into the planet’s atmosphere on Friday, Sept. 15.

Cassini is ending its 13-year tour of the Saturn system with an intentional plunge into the planet to ensure Saturn's moons – in particular Enceladus, with its subsurface ocean and signs of hydrothermal activity – remain pristine for future exploration. The spacecraft's fateful dive is the final beat in the mission's Grand Finale, 22 weekly dives, which began in late April, through the gap between Saturn and its rings. No spacecraft has ever ventured so close to the planet before.

The mission’s final calculations predict loss of contact with the Cassini spacecraft will take place on Sept. 15 at 7:55 a.m. EDT (4:55 a.m. PDT). Cassini will enter Saturn's atmosphere approximately one minute earlier, at an altitude of about 1,190 miles (1,915 kilometers) above the planet's estimated cloud tops (the altitude where the air pressure is 1-bar, equivalent to sea level on Earth). During its dive into the atmosphere, the spacecraft's speed will be approximately 70,000 miles (113,000 kilometers) per hour. The final plunge will take place on the day side of Saturn, near local noon, with the spacecraft entering the atmosphere around 10 degrees north latitude. ...

[MargaritaMc]

In case this is useful
http://m.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_S ... of_mission

HOW TO FOLLOW CASSINI’S END OF MISSION

12 September 2017

The international Cassini mission reaches its dramatic finale this Friday by plunging into Saturn’s atmosphere, concluding 13-years of exploration around the ringed planet.

Here’s when to follow events broadcast by NASA via https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive this week (dates and times below are given in GMT/CEST; all times subject to change).

You can also watch the live stream on this page:
(Note that other broadcasts will play here outside of the below times)

13 Sept
17:00 GMT / 19:00 CEST: News conference with a detailed preview of final mission activities (also streaming at https://www.youtube.com/nasajpl)

14 Sept
20:00-22:00 GMT / 22:00-23:00 CEST: Speaker programme as part of NASA Social event at JPL

15 Sept
~03:00 GMT / ~05:00 CEST: Final images expected to begin appearing online in Cassini raw image gallery
11:00-12:30 GMT / 13:00-14:30 CEST: Live commentary, covering end of mission (loss of signal expected on Earth ~11:55 GMT/13:55 CEST)
13:30 GMT/15:30 CEST: Post-mission news conference

[Case]

Cover image for the e-book.

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NASA has released a new e-book highlighting intriguing images and key scientific discoveries from its Cassini mission. "The Saturn System: Through the Eyes of Cassini" reveals the top 100 images from the mission to Saturn that explored the ringed planet and its spectacular moons.

https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/resources/7 ... y=graphics

[neufer]

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NASA has released a new e-book highlighting intriguing images and key scientific discoveries from its Cassini mission. "The Saturn System: Through the Eyes of Cassini" reveals the top 100 images from the mission to Saturn that explored the ringed planet and its spectacular moons.

Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, music historian, radio personality, voice actor, and actor, known for being the host of several music radio countdown programs, most notably American Top 40, from 1970 until his retirement in 2009, and for providing the voice of Norville "Shaggy" Rogers in the Scooby-Doo franchise from 1969 to 1997, and again from 2002 until 2009.

[bystander]

Cassini Ends Its Historic Exploration of Saturn
NASA | JPL-Caltech | Cassini | 2017 Sep 15

Saturn's active, ocean-bearing moon Enceladus sinks behind the giant planet in
a farewell portrait from NASA's Cassini spacecraft. This view of Enceladus was
taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft on Sept. 13, 2017. It is among the last
images Cassini sent back. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

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A thrilling epoch in the exploration of our solar system came to a close today, as NASA's Cassini spacecraft made a fateful plunge into the atmosphere of Saturn, ending its 13-year tour of the ringed planet. ...

Telemetry received during the plunge indicates that, as expected, Cassini entered Saturn’s atmosphere with its thrusters firing to maintain stability, as it sent back a unique final set of science observations. Loss of contact with the Cassini spacecraft occurred at 7:55 a.m. EDT (4:55 a.m. PDT), with the signal received by NASA’s Deep Space Network antenna complex in Canberra, Australia. ...

Cassini's plunge brings to a close a series of 22 weekly "Grand Finale" dives between Saturn and its rings, a feat never before attempted by any spacecraft. ...

As planned, data from eight of Cassini's science instruments was beamed back to Earth. Mission scientists will examine the spacecraft's final observations in the coming weeks for new insights about Saturn, including hints about the planet's formation and evolution, and processes occurring in its atmosphere. ...

While the Cassini spacecraft is gone, its enormous collection of data about Saturn – the giant planet, its magnetosphere, rings and moons – will continue to yield new discoveries for decades to come. ...

Cassini Concludes Pioneering Mission at Saturn
ESA | Space Science | Science & Technology | Cassini-Huygens | 2017 Sep 15

[MargaritaMc]

http://www.nature.com/news/cassini-cras ... es-1.22619

And from an email

September 15, 2017


Dear Friends and Colleagues,

After 18 years, here is my final Captain's Log.

http://ciclops.org

Carolyn Porco
Cassini Imaging Team leader
Director, CICLOPS, Space Science Institute, Boulder, CO
Visiting Scholar, UC Berkeley, CA
Fellow, California Academy of Sciences

[bystander]

Fresh Findings From Cassini
NASA | JPL-Caltech | Cassini | 2017 Oct 16

Inside-Out Rings: Over the Limb -- Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI -- Saturn looms in the foreground of this mosaic of Cassini images, taken by the spacecraft on May 28, 2017. The planet is adorned by ring shadows. The icy rings emerge from behind the planet.

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NASA's Cassini spacecraft ended its journey on Sept. 15 with an intentional plunge into the atmosphere of Saturn, but analysis continues on the mountain of data the spacecraft sent during its long life. Some of the Cassini team's freshest insights were presented during a news conference today at the American Astronomical Society Division for Planetary Science meeting in Provo, Utah.

Among the findings being shared:

• Views from Cassini's Grand Finale show the beauty of the rings and demonstrate processes similar to those that form planets.
• Cassini's electronic "nose" hit the jackpot, finding many surprises as it sniffed the gases in the previously unexplored space between the planet and the rings.
• Researchers continue trying to wrangle insights about the length of the planet's day from measurements of Saturn's magnetic field.
• New theoretical research explains the forces that keep Saturn's rings from spreading out and dispersing. It turns out to be a group effort.