Cassini Approaches Saturn
Explanation:
Cassini, a
robot spacecraft
launched in 1997 by
NASA,
became close enough in 2002 to resolve many
rings and
moons of its destination planet:
Saturn.
At that time,
Cassini snapped several images during an engineering test.
Several of those images were combined into the contrast-enhanced color composite
featured here.
Saturn's rings and
cloud-tops are visible toward the image bottom, while
Titan, its largest moon, is visible as the speck toward the top.
When
arriving at Saturn in July 2004, the
Cassini orbiter began to circle and study
the Saturnian system.
A highlight was when Cassini launched the
Huygens
probe that made an
unprecedented landing on
Titan in 2005, sending back
detailed
pictures.
Now nearing the end of its mission,
Cassini is scheduled to embark on a
Grand
Finale
phase in late 2016 where it will repeatedly dive between the giant planet and its
innermost rings.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
