NASA’s Cassini spacecraft will meet its fiery end in Saturn’s atmosphere on Friday
After 13 years of zooming around Saturn and its many moons, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has less than four days left at the planetary system before the probe is lost forever. Early Friday morning, Cassini will dive into Saturn’s atmosphere, eventually melting and breaking apart. The death plunge will put an end to the spacecraft’s mission, one that has taught us more about Saturn and its moons than we ever thought possible.
This final step has long been planned by the Cassini mission team, and it’s meant to protect the Saturn system. Two of the planet’s moons — Enceladus, with its subsurface ocean, and Titan, with lakes of methane — may have the right conditions to harbor life. By destroying Cassini, NASA ensures the spacecraft will never…
