The Cassini spacecraft will perform its closest flyby ever of Saturn's ice-spewing moon Enceladus early next year, moving directly into its icy polar geyser for a deep-space shower.
Cassini's third flyby of Enceladus (en-SELL-ah-dus), set for March 2008, will swing it within 19 miles (30 kilometers) of the saturnian moon-almost six times closer than the spacecraft's closest pass to it in 2005. The tight trajectory will move Cassini directly into the icy geyser at the moon's southern pole, said NASA official James Green during a teleconference today.
"Cassini was never designed to fly this close, but we've just got to get in that plume and look at that material and see what it is and where it's coming from," said Green, director of NASA's Planetary Division in Washington, D.C.
http://www.space.com/news/070801_cassini_update.html
Cassini to fly directly through Enceladus ice geyser
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- Cassini to fly directly through Enceladus ice geyser
- re: Cassini to fly directly through Enceladus ice geyser
- I'm kind of curious as to what kind of science data they are endeavoring to obtain? (n/t)
- Just a publicity stunt?
- Cassini finds possible origin of Saturn's G ring
- re: Cassini finds possible origin of Saturn's G ring. "Distant pictures from the cameras tell us... " (n/t)
- re: Cassini finds possible origin of Saturn's G ring. "Distant pictures from the cameras tell us... "
- re: Cassini finds possible origin of Saturn's G ring. "Distant pictures from the cameras tell us... " (n/t)
- Cassini finds possible origin of Saturn's G ring
- re: Cassini to fly directly through Enceladus ice geyser