Cassini News

Titan is the only world we know of in our solar system, besides Earth, that has stable liquid on its surface and the latest finding that shows remarkable similarities between the two.

Scientists scoured images of this region, particularly those taken at the high phase (spacecraft-ring-Sun) angles, looking for material that might pose a hazard to the spacecraft.

Mission scientists will examine the spacecraft's final observations in the coming weeks for new insights about Saturn.

The 20-year-old spacecraft has been investigating the ringed planet for 13 long years and it's finally time for NASA to say goodbye.

The spacecraft is in the process of emptying its onboard solid-state recorder of all science data, prior to reconfiguring for a near-real-time data relay during the final plunge.

Cassini's aim of investigating Saturn is truly a fruitful one, owing to all the amazingly informative insights into the evolution and structure of the ringed planet.

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, NASA said. 

On September 11, the spacecraft made its closest approach to Titan at 12:04 pm PDT (3:04 pm EDT), at an altitude of 73,974 miles (119,049 kilometers) above the moon's surface.

Cassini has been orbiting Saturn for nearly a half of a Saturnian year but that journey is nearing its end. 

Many lessons learned during Cassini's mission are being applied to planning NASA's Europa Clipper mission, planned for launch in the 2020s. 

The relative motions of both Cassini and Enceladus over a 15-minute period create the movement seen in the movie sequence.

The Cassini spacecraft has been collecting data while orbiting Saturn since its arrival in 2004 and is now in the throes of a final death spiral.

On September 15, 2017, Cassini will end its service and make a death-plunge into Saturn's atmosphere. 

Cassini's long mission at Saturn enabled the spacecraft to see the Sun rise over the north, revealing that region in great detail for the first time.

Cassini will make the first of these five passes over Saturn at 12:22 am EDT Monday, August 14.

Using data from Cassini mission, scientists including those from University College London (UCL) in the UK, identified negatively charged molecules called 'carbon chain anions' in the atmosphere of Titan.

The planet’s wavy cloud patterns and the smooth arcs of the vast rings are clearly visible and look gorgeous as the light glints off them.

 The image was part of a mosaic that included the planet's moon Daphnis (PIA17212).

According to NASA, reaching the solstice, and observing seasonal changes in the Saturn system along the way, was a primary goal of Cassini's Solstice Mission - the name of Cassini's second extended mission.

The rings themselves are made of fast-moving particles of ice and space debris.