NASA’s Cassini Prepares For ‘Grand Finale’ Dive Into Saturn; Watch How The Spacecraft Will Die

NASA's Cassini spacecraft, which was launched in 1997 and reached at Saturn in 2004, is very about to embark on the final chapter of its two-decades-long mission later this month. The spacecraft will make the first in a series of dives through the 2,400-kilometer gap between the gaseous giant planet and its rings on April 26, as a part of the probe’s grand finale.

"No spacecraft has ever gone through the unique area that we'll attempt to boldly cross 22 times," said Thomas Zurbuchen, Associate Administrator for  Science Mission Directorate, as noted by NDTV. "What we learn from the daring final orbits of Cassini will further our understanding of how giant planets, and planetary systems everywhere, form and evolve. This is truly discovery in action to the very end."

During the course of its mission, Cassini has made various crucial discoveries that include finding liquid methane seas on Saturn’s moon Titan and the presence of a global ocean within its icy moon Enceladus. After 13 years of orbiting Saturn, and 20 years since launch, Cassini is now getting low on fuel.

NASA took a decision in 2010 to end the Cassini mission with purposeful dive in Saturn in 2017. The probe’s engineers designed a flight plan that will make full use of the spacecraft with its fateful plunge into the ringed planet on Sep. 15.

For now, Cassini will make the transition to its finale orbits by doing a last close flyby of Titan on April 22. The natural satellite’s gravity will bend the flight path of the spacecraft. The orbit of Cassini will consequently shrink. Subsequently, the spacecraft will begin passing between Saturn and the inner edge of its ring instead of making its closest approach to the planet just outside the rings. When Cassini makes the final dive into the atmosphere of Saturn on Sep. 15, it will send data on the atmosphere’s conditions until its signal is lost.