Cassini Spacecraft Manoeuvers Between Saturn's Rings (Live Image Updates)

in #space7 years ago (edited)

New images of Saturn's rings are expected to be relayed back to earth today, April 27th 2017.

The manoeuvers have already been completed, but the antenna normally used to transmit data was being used to help protect the spacecraft's sensitive instruments. Images are expected to become available at 3:30am ET.

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[Saturn's Rings Ultraviolet Spectrum]

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[Titans Hydrocarbon Lakes]

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[Saturn Moon Enceladus]

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[Enceladus' Global Ocean]


First Images of Cassini between Saturn and its rings (April 27th)

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[Unprocessed image of Saturn's Atmosphere]

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(Updates will be added shortly)


Quick Facts - Cassini-Huygens Spacecraft

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Mission to explore Saturn and Titan

Cassini's Mission is 13 years in the making

Largest interplanetary spacecraft ever built

Launch Date: October 15th 1997

Arrival at Saturn: July 1st 2004

Huygen probe landed on Saturn's moon Titan: January 14th 2005

Completed 4 gravity assisted swing-bys: 1998 (Venus), 1999 (Venus), 1999 (Earth), 2000 (Jupiter)

The gravity assisted swing-bys of Venus (2) and Earth (1) provided the equivalent of 68 040 kg of rocket fuel

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Huygens heat shield can withstand temperatures of up to 18 000 degrees Celsius

The Gap between Saturn and it's rings is about 24, 000km

Source: ESA


Cassini's Grand Finale: Plunging into Saturn's Atmosphere

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22 scheduled dives

Final Plunge through Saturn's atmosphere on September 15 2017

The move is the first in what NASA is calling Cassini's Grand Finale, as it weaves its way between Saturn and its rings in a series of 22 dives that will culminate in what the agency describes as "a science-rich plunge into Saturn's atmosphere on Sept. 15."

Source: NPR

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Titan Animation

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Far out! I guess there were dinosaurs on Titan. Either that, or abiotic oil is a thing.

Wow! Great images, can't wait for more!

Thanks @richq11, I was under the impression that there may be more photos released today, but so far just a few black and whites.

Hopefully some new 'processed' images will be released soon!

Fascinating to see this... look forward to more photos as they become available.

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