Cassini - End of Mission

Video Source : NASA Science Casts | Youtube | Cassini Grand Finale to its Saturn Mission

CASSINI EXPLORATION:

      Cassini Grand Finale is about so much more than the spacecraft's final dive into the planet Saturn. The dramatic event is the capstone of six months of daring exploration and scientific discovery.

MISSION OBJECTIVES:

• The spacecraft will make detailed maps of Saturn's Gravity and Magnetic fields, revealing how the planet is arranged internally, and possibly helping to solve the irksome mystery of just how fast saturn is rotating
• The final dives will vastly improve our knowledge of how much material is in the rings, bringing us closer to understanding their origins.
• Cassini's particle detectors will sample icy ring particles being funneled into the atmosphere by Saturn's magnetic field
• Its cameras will take amazing, ultra-close images of Saturn\s rings and clouds

DISCOVERIES TO THE END:

     Cassini's final images have been sent to Earth several hours before its final dive into the atmosphere of Saturn. It will send information and data on Saturn's Atmosphere during its dive. The data will be collected from the Mass Spectrometer. It will send detailed information on atmosphere teling us about its composition until the contact is lost.

Mission Starting from its launch in 1997 to the unique Grand Finale Science of 2017, the Cassini-Huygens mission has racked up a remarkable list of achievements.

WHY THE MISSION ENDS:

 By the year 2017 , Cassini will have spent 13 years in orbit around Saturn, following a seven-year journey from Earth. The spacecraft is running low on rocket fuel used for adjusting its course. If left unchecked, this situation would eventually prevent mission operators from controlling the course of the spacecraft.

TOP DISCOVERY:

     Two moons of Saturn, Enceladus and Titan have captured news headlines over the past decade as Cassini data revealed their potential to contain habitable - or at least Pre-biotic environments.

SAFETY OF DISPOSE:

      In order to avoid the unlikely possibility of Cassini someday colliding with one of these moons, NASA has chosen to safely dispose of the spacecraft in the Saturn's atmosphere. This will ensure that Cassini cannot contaminate any future studies of habitability and potential life on those moons.The mission will end on 15th September 2017.

Image Credit :  National Aeronautics Space Administration | Cassini

Text Credit    :  NASA's Saturn | Jet Propulsion Laboratory