Updates Cassini Mission News and Updates

[Keatah]

You mean as the ship flew +124,000 kph past something likely only a few tens of meters thick?

I'd suspect no, because of the smearing. And then you have CCD integration time. They said they wouldn't be grabbing photos of the surface at closest approach either, which can be done at more favorable angles.

Maybe they'll figure something out later.

---

Seems we didn't lose the spacecraft, but, instead, lost the imaging site: http://www.ciclops.org
..Hopefully it'll be back up soon. they had this cute little golf game on there.

 

[Notebook]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-39779718

The American space agency says the Cassini satellite encountered very few particles as it dived between Saturn and its rings last week.
There were fears that the probe might hit fragments of ice or rock, and that these could cause significant damage.
Cassini made the plunge with its radio dish pointing forward like a shield.
But the latest analysis indicates there were hardly any impacts and those particles the probe did strike were only smoke-sized.
"The region between the rings and Saturn is 'the big empty,' apparently," commented Cassini project manager, Earl Maize, of Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

 

[Ravenous]

You mean as the ship flew +124,000 kph past something likely only a few tens of meters thick?

I'd suspect no, because of the smearing. And then you have CCD integration time. They said they wouldn't be grabbing photos of the surface at closest approach either, which can be done at more favorable angles.

Maybe they'll figure something out later.

Good point, no I didn't mean pretty pics of the exact moment of ring crossing, I was thinking of some pictures taken shortly before or after, possibly showing a perspective view of the rings. Especially if any of the 3D structures are visible from that position. Just thought it might be interesting to see if depth is visible in those B-ring ripples...

 

[Andy44]

But the latest analysis indicates there were hardly any impacts and those particles the probe did strike were only smoke-sized.

How do they detect those?

 

[Unstung]

How do they detect those?

Dust detector, it's a common instrument on interplanetary spacecraft. But since Cassini shielded most of its instruments, the RWPS detected them (more information in the link below).


Cassini completed its second "dive" recently. Due to the low dust count, Cassini spun near close approach to get better magnetic field data.

 

[Nicholas Kang]

Video from Cassini's first dive past Saturn is released!

 

[Artlav]

Damn motion blur...

 

[Unstung]

Cassini completed dive 3 of 22 a few hours ago.

 

[GLS]

Cassini survives closest brush with Saturn’s inner ring

https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/05/30/cassini-survives-closest-brush-with-saturns-inner-ring/

Nice images.

 

[Unstung]

The 11th of 22 ring crossings is happening in just under two days from now, so the final stage of the mission is about halfway over.

 

[Notebook]

26 July 2017
The international Cassini-Huygens mission has made a surprising detection of a molecule that is instrumental in the production of complex organics within the hazy atmosphere of Saturn’s moon Titan.
Titan boasts a thick nitrogen and methane atmosphere with some of the most complex chemistry seen in the Solar System. It is even thought to mimic the atmosphere of early Earth, before the build-up of oxygen. As such, Titan can be seen as a planet-scale laboratory that can be studied to understand the chemical reactions that may have led to life on Earth, and that could be occurring on planets around other stars.

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/S...ersal_driver_for_prebiotic_chemistry_at_Titan

 

[Ravenous]

There's also a Cassini "movie", of a sort, here (more like an animated pan):

https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/resources/7712/

...that's from the first "dive" in April. It goes from one pole to almost the equator.

 

[Notebook]

Cassini to skim Saturn's atmosphere

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-40902774

 

[Unstung]

"NASA Announces Cassini End-of-Mission Activities"

September 15th is approaching, and NASA revealed its media schedule for the end of the mission.

One final distant encounter of Titan will occur on the 11th, after 127 close flybys during the mission.

 

[GLS]

 

[Notebook]

Sadly, the bringer of age. Shame no graveyard orbit!

 

[Notebook]

http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2017/08/Saturn_s_rings_and_Prometheus

The international Cassini mission is drawing to a close in spectacular style: diving between Saturn and its innermost rings and exploring uncharted territory like never before.

 

[Andy44]

If we were all in the same town I'd throw a Cassini party.

 

[Ravenous]

If we were all in the same town I'd throw a Cassini party.

Food: onion rings.

Drinks: anything as long as they're very cold.

And fireworks at the end.

 

[Andy44]

Food: onion rings.

Drinks: anything as long as they're very cold.

And fireworks at the end.

At the very least we should create a Cassini mixed drink recipe.