Cassini on Its Final Approach of Saturn

The spacecraft Cassini sent by NASA to study the solar system has now come to the last bit of it’s twenty year voyage. This week the spacecraft will make it’s final close fly past of Saturn’s moon Titan before the craft head into the ringed planet.

This will be the 127th targeted mission that Cassini makes before ending a long term mission which has helped reveal many unknown details about planets and moons in our Solar System. The final mission is set for 21 April at 11.08 pm PDT.

The mission will involve the space craft passing just 979 km above the surface of the haze enshrouded Titan at a speed of about 21,000 km/hr. Over the time Cassini has been in operation it has managed to set 22 orbits that pass through Saturn and it’s rings.

The final plunge into Saturn will be on September 15th later this year. The space craft will use it’s rocket engine and thrusters to aim more accurately towards it’s last encounter with Titan before ending it’s mission.

The end of this science project should leave researchers with fresh information about the methane lakes and seas on Titan. It will be the first time the depth and composition of smaller lakes on the moon will be in focus and under study.