Cassini Probe Made in the USA Dies on Saturn

FrgMstr

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The Cassini probe was built here in America with its own little nuclear decay generator and after it made its seven year journey to Saturn, it was supposed to operate on mission after arrival for four years, in 2008. The Little Probe that Could is scheduled to be torpedoed into Saturn's atmosphere this Friday in what will be an end to its 20 year service to science. Forbes contributor, Ethan Siegel, has a run-down of Cassini's six most impressive discoveries.



As Cassini prepares for its final dive into the gas giant's atmosphere, slated to take place on Friday, September 15th, it's important to remember how far we've come, and how we got there.
 
RIP In Peace little space probe.

It's actually quite big! The size of a school bus! I know I am saddened due to the end of the mission. So many incredible scientific discoveries! Ocean on Enceladus, lakes on Titan, etc.
 
RIP In Peace little space probe.
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One day, when NASA plunges these probes into an atmosphere, it’s going to blow up the entire planet.

NASA: “uh oops.”

That is part of the point of killing it in Saturns atmosphere. To keep it from harming any of the moons potential habitats. Nothing would say hello from earth more then us letting radioactive waste crash into your nice clean sub surface moon ocean home.
 
I've always liked reading about things like this, but that article that was linked, and all the discoveries and pictures... just mind blowing, absolutely amazing.
 
That is part of the point of killing it in Saturns atmosphere. To keep it from harming any of the moons potential habitats. Nothing would say hello from earth more then us letting radioactive waste crash into your nice clean sub surface moon ocean home.

I think dumping out radioactive waste on Titan would be beneficial.
 
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What struck me in those photos? The North Pole at Saturn was Blue...but now it's Yellow!!! CO2!!!! The Saturnites are doomed because of man-made global warming! Err, "climate change"!!! The pole is YELLOW!!!!

Oh. We didn't do it?

Let's talk about the Red Spot.
 
What struck me in those photos? The North Pole at Saturn was Blue...but now it's Yellow!!! CO2!!!! The Saturnites are doomed because of man-made global warming! Err, "climate change"!!! The pole is YELLOW!!!!

Oh. We didn't do it?

Let's talk about the Red Spot.

Droppin' science like Galileo dropped the orange!
 
Wonder what the last pic received will look like? Given the transmission speed, the last pic it takes will likely never be completely sent. It will be weird if it looks anything like the artist's rendition.
 
Wonder what the last pic received will look like? Given the transmission speed, the last pic it takes will likely never be completely sent. It will be weird if it looks anything like the artist's rendition.

I'm sure we'll find out. Hopefully we can get back some HD pics of between the rings.
 
Well those are awesome too. Damn shame on the 'artist's impression' pic. Do they have any good pics from inside the rings?
 
Someone hooked me up with some JPL sample CCD's from this space probe. I have them around here, somewhere. He showed me something cool and I was like "Casini-Craf??" Wait-- Cassini space probe!!
 

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Wonder what the last pic received will look like? Given the transmission speed, the last pic it takes will likely never be completely sent. It will be weird if it looks anything like the artist's rendition.

Cassini's last picture is Thursday, a day before the death dive. Normally Casinni stores the data and transmits it much later. However since the atmospheric entry will only last a couple mins NASA is modifying the software to have a delay of only a few seconds before transmission. But due to this they are disabling the camera and using all bandwidth for the scientific instruments. So unfortunately no crazy burn-up photos.

I'm sure we'll find out. Hopefully we can get back some HD pics of between the rings.

Cassini has been doing this since April when they redirected it to ensure it will eventually burn up on its own if we were to lose contact. They've returned some great photos such as:

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NASA's Cassini spacecraft has captured a spectacular photo of a perplexing wave structure in one of Saturn's rings as the probe heads into its final days at the gas giant. The rings of Saturn are embedded with billions of water-ice particles ranging in size from grains of sand to monstrous chunks. Saturn's rings also feature waves that propagate outward in spiral patterns. The new image from Cassini captures an up-close view of a spiral density wave visible in Saturn's B ring. The wave structure is a buildup of material that has formed from the gravitational pull of Saturn's moons, NASA officials said. The density wave visible in Saturn's B ring originates 59,796 miles (96,233 kilometers) from the planet, where the "ring particles orbit Saturn twice for every time the moon Janus orbits once, creating an orbital resonance," according to a statement from NASA. In the new image, the wave structure — aptly named the Janus 2:1 spiral density wave — appears to ricochet outward, away from Saturn and toward the upper-left corner of the photo, creating hundreds of bright wave crests. The density wave is generated by the gravitational pull of Saturn's moon Janus. However, Janus and one of Saturn's other moons, Epimetheus, share practically the same orbit and swap places every four years, creating a new crest in the wave, according to the statement. As a result, the distance between any pair of crests corresponds to four years' worth of wave oscillations. This pattern represents the orbital history of Janus and Epimetheus, much like the rings of a tree reveal information about its growth. Based on this idea, the crests of the wave at the very upper left of the new Cassini image correspond to the positions of Janus and Epimetheus during the Saturn flybys of NASA's twin Voyager probes in 1980 and 1981, according to the statement. The recent images of Saturn's B ring were taken on June 4, 2017, using Cassini's narrow-angle camera. After 20 historic years in space, the Cassini mission will come to a close on Sept. 15, when the spacecraft will intentionally dive into Saturn's atmosphere.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
 
That is part of the point of killing it in Saturns atmosphere. To keep it from harming any of the moons potential habitats. Nothing would say hello from earth more then us letting radioactive waste crash into your nice clean sub surface moon ocean home.
But what if some sort of life form that we cannot even comprehend lives on these gas giants? Who knows, dragons could be flying around in there.
You know it was probably actually made in China ;)
Assembled in the US. That's the important part :ROFLMAO:.
 
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That is part of the point of killing it in Saturns atmosphere. To keep it from harming any of the moons potential habitats. Nothing would say hello from earth more then us letting radioactive waste crash into your nice clean sub surface moon ocean home.

I believe they are more concerned with seeding one of Sautrn's moons with microbes from Earth. Apparently there are some that potentially could've survived 20 years in space, crazy. Its nice to see NASA getting many years more out of their rovers and probes, speaks to the quality of the engineering. I would love to work at JPL, although those people are on a whole other level, much respect!
 
But what if some sort of life form that we cannot even comprehend lives on these gas giants? Who knows, dragons could be flying around in there.

I'd be more concerned if it were Jupiter. But hey you never know hydrogues could be living in Saturn as well! I really hope we dont start a war...
 
I've always liked reading about things like this, but that article that was linked, and all the discoveries and pictures... just mind blowing, absolutely amazing.

I don't usually read most articles here, but your comment made me curious. I was not disappointed. Thanks!
 
Ah.. yes.. I remember a mess of policy debate arguments I wrote, and used, regarding Cassini. You helped win a few rounds little feller. Thanks for not destroying the world like we claimed you would.
 
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Before NASA's Cassini spacecraft began the "grand finale" phase of its mission at Saturn, it took one last photo of the giant planet and its ring system from afar. The spacecraft has been orbiting Saturn for the last 13 years and will dive into the gas giant tomorrow.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
 
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Milestones in Cassini's final dive toward Saturn in September 2017.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
 
See Where the Cassini Spacecraft Crashed into Saturn


NASA's Cassini team captured imagery of where they think that the probe was when it entered the atmosphere of Saturn. Cassini project scientist Linda Spilker explains.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute


The last photos NASA's Cassini spacecraft ever took were of its own grave.
Cassini burned up like a meteor in Saturn's atmosphere early this morning (Sept. 15), ending its historic 13-year study of the ringed-planet system with a dramatic final plunge.

And you can see exactly where Cassini went in, thanks to a series of images the probe took during its approach to the gas giant yesterday afternoon (Sept. 14).

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This infrared-light image, made from data obtained by the visual and infrared mapping spectrometer aboard NASA's Cassini spacecraft, shows where the probe entered Saturn's atmosphere on Sept. 15, 2017. Cassini captured the image a day earlier, when it was about 394,000 miles (634,000 kilometers) from Saturn.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

Some of these photos are in visible light, whereas others are in the infrared. All were taken when Cassini was about 394,000 miles (634,000 kilometers) from Saturn, NASA officials said.

The spacecraft burned up in a patch of Saturn sky at 9.4 degrees north latitude and 53 degrees west longitude. The location "was at this time on the night side of the planet but would rotate into daylight by the time Cassini made its final dive into Saturn's upper atmosphere, ending its remarkable 13-year exploration of Saturn," NASA officials wrote in a description of the visible-light images.

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This monochrome photo — taken on Sept. 14, 2017, at a distance of about 394,000 miles (634,000 kilometers) from Saturn — is the last picture ever snapped by Cassini’s imaging cameras. It shows the spot where, a day later, the spacecraft plunged into Saturn’s atmosphere.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute


Why are there no images from today, during the plunge itself? The mission team prioritized other information, such as measurements of Saturn's atmospheric composition. And the data-transmission rate to Earth was low — so low that images would have hogged too much bandwidth, mission team members said.

Cassini launched in October 1997 and arrived at Saturn on the night of June 30, 2004. The spacecraft made a number of remarkable discoveries over the years. For example, Cassini spotted big hydrocarbon lakes on the hazy Saturn moon Titan and geysers of water vapor blasting from the south pole of the icy satellite Enceladus.

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A color version of Cassini’s final visible-light photo, created using images taken with red, green and blue spectral filters.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

Cassini's observations suggest that both of these worlds harbor subsurface oceans of liquid water and may be capable of supporting life. (And Titan may have two different habitable environments; it's possible that "weird life" that depends on liquid hydrocarbons, rather than on water, could exist on the moon's surface, astrobiologists say.)

"I think one of the biggest legacies from Cassini will be the fact that we now know that there are ocean worlds not only around Jupiter, but also around Saturn," Cassini project scientist Linda Spilker, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said during a news conference today.


The last images of the Saturn system have made it down to Earth. Cassini project scientist Linda Spilker highlighted a few of them during an end of mission press conference on Sept. 15, 2017.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute


"You have Enceladus, Titan, perhaps [fellow Saturn moon] Dione, sort of opening up our view of, 'Where could we find life in our solar system?'" Spilker added. "It doesn't have to be in that narrow zone, the 'Goldilocks zone,' where the Earth is."

Indeed, the potential habitability of Titan and Enceladus spurred Cassini's death dive today. The spacecraft's handlers wanted to make sure that Cassini — which was nearly out of fuel — never contaminated either moon with microbes from Earth.


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Enceladus sets behind Saturn in this view from NASA's Cassini spacecraft on Sept. 13, 2017. Cassini's narrow-angle camera captured the images that make up the movie over the course of about 40 minutes on Wednesday. At the time, Cassini was about 810,000 miles (1.3 million kilometers) from Enceladus and about 620,000 miles (1 million km) from Saturn, imaging team members wrote.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute


The $3.2 billion Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative effort involving NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. Huygens was a piggyback probe that rode with Cassini and touched down on Titan's surface in January 2005, pulling off the first-ever soft landing on a world in the outer solar system.
 
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