Nasa Cassini will enter new territory in its final mission phase, the Grand Finale, making the first of the five passes over Saturn on 13 August. Photo: ReutersWashington: Nasa’s Cassini spacecraft is set to begin its final five ultra-close orbits around Saturn, before the probe plunges into the atmosphere of the ringed planet and ends its epic 20-year-long journey. The spacecraft will enter new territory in its final mission phase, the Grand Finale, making the first of the five passes over Saturn on 13 August. “As it makes these five dips into Saturn, followed by its final plunge, Cassini will become the first Saturn atmospheric probe,” said Linda Spilker, Cassini project scientist at JPL. The spacecraft is expected to reach an altitude where atmospheric density is about twice what it encountered during its final five passes.

Source: Mint August 10, 2017 07:41 UTC