NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has ended its final mission with a suicide dive into Saturn. Cassini launched in 1997 but didn’t get to Saturn until 2004. On its journey, it took images of the other planets.
Cassini had been helping scientists study Saturn and its moons since that time, but with its fuel low, it was time to end the mission. A message was transmitted to the spacecraft ordering it to fly into Saturn. It captured images until it crashed at 7:55 am EST Friday morning. Video of its final pictures can be seen in the tweet below.
One last look…Explore the final @CassiniSaturn pics, taken just hours before its fateful plunge into the planet: https://t.co/dyewjqLoiZ pic.twitter.com/NeOxO8EFHR
— NASA (@NASA) September 15, 2017
Cassini is now part of the planet it studied for so many years. Its mission lasted 10 years longer than planned, orbiting the planet 293 times! There was no gas gauge on the spacecraft. Instead, scientists had to estimate the amount of fuel it still had by tracking its maneuvers. Some of its most memorable and amazing pictures are in the video below.
To truly reveal the wonders of Saturn, we had to go there. Look back at @CassiniSaturn's 13 amazing years exploring the planet pic.twitter.com/oApb3UJSSF
— NASA (@NASA) September 15, 2017
It is amazing to think what was accomplished on Cassini’s journey. Just this April, it found habitable zones on one of Saturn’s moons. This incredible discovery could have huge effects on the future of mankind.
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Source: NPR
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