Saturn probe News

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.

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.

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.

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.

The team found large quantities of the chemical on Titan, most likely in the stratosphere – the hazy part of the atmosphere that gives this moon its brownish-orange colour.

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.

On Tuesday, May 2, at 3.38 p.m. EDT (1:a.m. Wednesday India Time), NASA's Cassini will shoot the narrow gap between Saturn and its rings for the second time in its Grand Finale.

It's a never-seen-before photograph clicked when Cassini was 870 million miles (1.4 billion kilometers) away from Earth.

The 20-year-old spacecraft has been investigating the ringed planet for 13 years, thereby providing scientists with numerous insights into Saturn's structure and evolution.

The release of nitrogen, known as exsolution, can also occur when methane seas warm slightly during the changing seasons on Titan.