Cassini: The Grand Finale: NASA's Cassini Mission Prepares for Grand Finale at Saturn

Cassini–Huygens - Wikipedia

Cassini–Huygens (/ˌkəˈsini ˈhɔɪˌɡəns/) is an unmanned spacecraft sent to the planet Saturn. It is a Flagship-class NASA–ESA–ASI robotic spacecraft.[4] Cassini is the fourth space probe to visit Saturn and the first to enter orbit. It has studied the planet and its many natural satellites since arriving there in 2004.

Why Cassini Matters

1. NASA’s Cassini spacecraft and ESA’s Huygens probe expanded our understanding of the kinds of worlds where life might exist.

2. At Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, Cassini and Huygens showed us one of the most Earth-like worlds we’ve ever encountered, with weather, climate and geology that provide new ways to understand our home planet.

3. Cassini is, in a sense, a time machine. It has given us a portal to see the physical processes that likely shaped the development of our solar system, as well as planetary systems around other stars.

4. The length of Cassini’s mission has enabled us to observe weather and seasonal changes, improving our understanding of similar processes at Earth, and potentially those at planets around other stars.

5. Cassini revealed Saturn’s moons to be unique worlds with their own stories to tell.

6. Cassini showed us the complexity of Saturn’s rings and the dramatic processes operating within them.

7. Some of Cassini’s best discoveries were serendipitous. What Cassini found at Saturn prompted scientists to rethink their understanding of the solar system.

8. Cassini represents a staggering achievement of human and technical complexity, finding innovative ways to use the spacecraft and its instruments, and paving the way for future missions to explore our solar system.

9. Cassini revealed the beauty of Saturn, its rings and moons, inspiring our sense of wonder and enriching our sense of place in the cosmos.

Cassini: The Grand Finale: Raw Images

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