The Cassini spacecraft will reach its grand finale on September 15, when it will plunge into Saturn’s atmosphere, where the temperature and pressure will crush and vaporize the craft into oblivion. The death dive takes place almost 20 years after the spacecraft first launched and marks the end of one the longest missions undertaken by NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Italian Space Agency (ISA).
To mark the end of the Cassini-Huygens mission, Newsweek looks at its landmark events over the last two decades—and what will happen in the final weeks of the spacecraft’s voyage.
Conception
The Cassini mission was first suggested as a joint mission between the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the European Science Foundation in the early 1980s. After various setbacks, NASA and the ESA agreed to the joint venture in 1988, with a view to launching two spacecraft—one to visit Saturn and the other to land on Saturn’s moon Titan.
NASA
The spacecraft launched on October 15, 1997, from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The craft carried the Cassini orbiter, which would eventually be placed into Saturn’s orbit, and the Huygens probe, destined for Titan.
Venus flybys, 1998-1999
Cassini passed Venus for the first time on April 25, 1998. It came within 176 miles of the surface of Venus and used the planet’s gravity to accelerate the spacecraft to a speed of around four miles per second. The following year, on 24 June, the spacecraft passed Venus for the second time to get another gravity boost.a second time to get another gravity boost.
Earth flyby, 1999
Cassini came within 700 miles of Earth on August 17, 1999. This flyby helped speed up the spacecraft to 3.4 miles per second, sending it on its way to its next destination—Jupiter.
Exploring the asteroid belt and Jupiter, 1999-2001
Over the next two years, Cassini traveled through the asteroid belt that sits between Mars and Jupiter. Scientists were able to use instruments on board to study this region of space before the spacecraft moved on to Jupiter, passing by on December 30, 2000. While in this part of space, Cassini joined up with the Galileo spacecraft to give a new view of the largest planet in the solar system.
NASA/JPL-CALTECH/SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE VIA GETTY
Cassini started approaching Saturn in April 2004 and began exploring Saturn’s moons over several months. It discovered two new moons, Methone and Pallene, in May, before making its first flyby of Phoebe in June. The spacecraft was inserted into Saturn’s orbit on July 1. Read more...
To mark the end of the Cassini-Huygens mission, Newsweek looks at its landmark events over the last two decades—and what will happen in the final weeks of the spacecraft’s voyage.
Conception
The Cassini mission was first suggested as a joint mission between the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the European Science Foundation in the early 1980s. After various setbacks, NASA and the ESA agreed to the joint venture in 1988, with a view to launching two spacecraft—one to visit Saturn and the other to land on Saturn’s moon Titan.
NASA
The spacecraft launched on October 15, 1997, from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The craft carried the Cassini orbiter, which would eventually be placed into Saturn’s orbit, and the Huygens probe, destined for Titan.
Venus flybys, 1998-1999
Cassini passed Venus for the first time on April 25, 1998. It came within 176 miles of the surface of Venus and used the planet’s gravity to accelerate the spacecraft to a speed of around four miles per second. The following year, on 24 June, the spacecraft passed Venus for the second time to get another gravity boost.a second time to get another gravity boost.
Earth flyby, 1999
Cassini came within 700 miles of Earth on August 17, 1999. This flyby helped speed up the spacecraft to 3.4 miles per second, sending it on its way to its next destination—Jupiter.
Exploring the asteroid belt and Jupiter, 1999-2001
Over the next two years, Cassini traveled through the asteroid belt that sits between Mars and Jupiter. Scientists were able to use instruments on board to study this region of space before the spacecraft moved on to Jupiter, passing by on December 30, 2000. While in this part of space, Cassini joined up with the Galileo spacecraft to give a new view of the largest planet in the solar system.
NASA/JPL-CALTECH/SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE VIA GETTY
Cassini started approaching Saturn in April 2004 and began exploring Saturn’s moons over several months. It discovered two new moons, Methone and Pallene, in May, before making its first flyby of Phoebe in June. The spacecraft was inserted into Saturn’s orbit on July 1. Read more...