UP

Cassini probe heads towards Saturn 'grand finale'

Home page Science
12 Punto 14 Punto 16 Punto 18 Punto
Cassini probe heads towards Saturn 'grand finale'

Cassini has used a gravitational slingshot around Saturn's moon Titan to put it on a path towards destruction.

Saturday's flyby swept the probe into an orbit that takes it in between the planet's rings and its atmosphere.
This gap-run gives the satellite the chance finally to work out the length of a day on Saturn, and to determine the age of its stunning rings.

But the manoeuvre means also that it cannot escape a fiery plunge into Saturn's clouds in September.
The US space agency (Nasa) is calling an end to 12 years of exploration and discovery at Saturn because the probe's propellant tanks are all but empty.
Controllers cannot risk an unresponsive satellite one day crashing into - and contaminating - the gas giant's potentially life-supporting moons, and so they have opted for a strategy that guarantees safe disposal.

"If Cassini runs out of fuel it would be uncontrolled and the possibility that it could crash-land on the moons of Titan and/or Enceladus are unacceptably high," said Dr Earl Maize, Nasa's Cassini programme manager.

"We could put it into a very long orbit far from Saturn but the science return from that would be nowhere near as good as what we're about to do," he told BBC News

Date
2017.04.22 / 23:19
Author
Axar.az
See also

Four killed, 46 injured in attacks on Belgorod region

CENTCOM: US, Saudi strike Iran-aligned targets

Russia puts Pavel Durov on international wanted list

Netanyahu voices skepticism over Iran deal

Uskudar mayor detained in Turkiye

Ukrainian drones hit Ryazan refinery - Video

Three Russian Black Sea terminals restrict grain intake

Oil prices rise again

CENTCOM: Iran launched missile attack on US forces - Video

Iran says Strait of Hormuz will remain closed

Latest
Xocalı soyqırımı — 1992-ci il Bağla
Bize yazin Bağla
ArxivBağla