{"id":14909,"date":"2017-09-14T13:27:51","date_gmt":"2017-09-14T17:27:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=14909"},"modified":"2017-09-14T13:27:51","modified_gmt":"2017-09-14T17:27:51","slug":"videos-cassini-nears-its-final-orbit-around-saturn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=14909","title":{"rendered":"Videos: Cassini nears its final orbit around Saturn"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Friday, the Cassini probe<\/a> will end its 13 year mission at the ringed planet when its final orbit takes the spacecraft into Saturn’s atmosphere:\u00a0Cassini Spacecraft Makes Its Final Approach to Saturn | NASA<\/a><\/p>\n

NASA’s\u00a0Cassini<\/a>\u00a0spacecraft is on final approach to Saturn, following confirmation by mission navigators that it is on course to dive into the planet\u2019s atmosphere on Friday, Sept. 15.<\/em><\/p>\n

Cassini is ending its 13-year tour of the Saturn system with an intentional plunge into the planet to ensure Saturn’s moons \u2013 in particular Enceladus, with its subsurface ocean and signs of hydrothermal activity \u2013 remain pristine for future exploration. The spacecraft’s fateful dive is the final beat in the mission’s Grand Finale, 22 weekly dives, which began in late April, through the gap between Saturn and its rings. No spacecraft has ever ventured so close to the planet before.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Milestones in Cassini’s final dive toward Saturn.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The mission\u2019s final calculations predict loss of contact with the Cassini spacecraft will take place on Sept. 15 at 7:55 a.m. EDT (4:55 a.m. PDT). Cassini will enter Saturn’s atmosphere approximately one minute earlier, at an altitude of about 1,190 miles (1,915 kilometers) above the planet’s estimated cloud tops (the altitude where the air pressure is 1-bar, equivalent to sea level on Earth). During its dive into the atmosphere, the spacecraft’s speed will be approximately 70,000 miles (113,000 kilometers) per hour. The final plunge will take place on the day side of Saturn, near local noon, with the spacecraft entering the atmosphere around 10 degrees north latitude.<\/p>\n