NASA's Cassini Spacecraft Survives Saturn’s Ring-Dive, Sends Back Spectacular First Images

First Posted: Apr 28, 2017 06:28 AM EDT
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Nasa's Cassini spacecraft has sent back the closest-ever images ever captured of Saturn, after a successful first dive into the planet’s rings. The photos show details never seen before such as an odd six-sided vortex weather system, massive hurricane at the planet’s north pole and swirling clouds.

According to The Telegraph, Cassini came as close as 1,900 miles from the top of Saturn's clouds and within 200 miles of its innermost ring during the spacecraft’s first pass inside the rings. Cassini plunged through the narrow gap between Saturn and its innermost ring on Wednesday, an area where no mission has gone before. Incidentally, the plunge was the first of 22 planned dives that will see the spacecraft explore uncharted territory between the gas giant’s cloud tops and its rings.

Cassini is expected to take photos of many of Saturn’s moons and to observe the planet’s gravity, auroras, clouds and winds during the dives. The information collected could help researchers to understand the source of the ringed planet’s magnetic field, calculate how fast Saturn rotates and know what lies under its layers of clouds.

"Cassini spacecraft has once again blazed a trail, showing us new wonders and demonstrating where our curiosity can take us if we dare," NASA planetary sciences chief Jim Green said in a statement.

Incidentally, officials from the U.S. space agency are not sure if the mission will survive its ring dives because the 2,400-kilometer gap between the planet and its rings is possibly littered with ice particles. Since Cassini is traveling at a speed of 124,000 kilometers per hour, a collision with even extremely small particles can mean disaster for the spacecraft.

To protect the mission during its first dive, Cassini's dish-shaped communications antenna was temporarily repositioned to act like a shield. The final dive of the probe is scheduled for Sep. 15, when Cassini will fly directly into Saturn’s atmosphere.

See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone

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