Cassini spacecraft to dive inside Saturn’s rings for mission finale

The U.S. shouldered $2.6 billion of of the bill and the European Space Agency (ESA) kicked in $500 million.

But the beginning of the end for Cassini is, in many ways, like a whole new mission. NASA’s plan is to send it straight into Saturn’s atmosphere, where it will slowly burn to death.

“The only choice was to destroy it in some controlled fashion and that’s where the Grand Finale came in”, Maize said.

In its 13-year sojourn at Saturn, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has methodically studied practically every cloud and bit of orbiting rock the planet has to offer. It will dive again and again and again, making a total of 22 close shaves of the planet, sending back extremely valuable data and photos the entire time. It only seems like forever because Cassini has sent back so much fantastic stuff. But the mission could meet a premature end if a ring particle hits Cassini.

Cassini will travel at more than 70,000 miles per hour when flying through the gap.

“NASA required that we dispose of Cassini in a way that would protect Enceladus and Titan from a later impact”, she said.

Titan, Saturn’s largest moon appears before the planet as it undergoes seasonal changes in this natural color view from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft in this handout released by NASA August 29, 2012.

Cassini’s mission will officially terminate on September 15, after a planned plummet through Saturn’s atmosphere.

“Cassini’s grand finale is so much more than a final plunge”, said Linda Spilker, Cassini project scientist at JPL.

As the craft ‘repeatedly braves this unexplored region, ‘ it will investigate the origins of the rings and the nature of the planet’s interior, the video explains.

“The Grand Finale is like a brand new mission”, Spilker said.

The spectacular final act of the Cassini spacecraft will help ensure that humanity doesn’t accidentally infect other parts of the solar system with aliens carried there from Earth.

During its time circling Saturn’s system Cassini has gathered a wide array of data, as well as dropping the probe, Huygen, on Titan.

Cassini has been studying the sixth planet from the sun and its many moons since arriving in Saturn’s neighborhood in 2004. Even if Cassini is completely lost, its trajectory will send it into Saturn anyway so there’s no risk to Titan or Enceladus.

But now Cassini is running out of fuel. If left unchecked, this situation would eventually prevent mission operators from controlling the course of the spacecraft and so it is time to call it a day. Astronomers do not want Cassini to someday crash into one of the Saturn’s moons that could have conditions for alien life. This will ensure that Cassini can not contaminate any future studies of habitability and potential life on those moons.