{Cassini} Probe to end mission in ring gap (BBC)

[eppur_se_muova]

By Paul Rincon
Science editor, BBC News website, The Woodlands, Texas

The Cassini space probe will dive into the narrow gap between Saturn's atmosphere and its innermost ring for the final leg of its mission in 2016.

Cassini has been orbiting Saturn from a distance - outside the ring system.

The last set of orbits will bring the spacecraft up close, offering new scientific insights, perhaps even clues to the age of its majestic rings.

They offer the final chance to gather data before Cassini is destroyed in Saturn's atmosphere.

The mission's project scientist Linda Spilker outlined details of the final orbits at the 43rd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) in the Woodlands, Texas.
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more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17471128
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2012/pdf/1358.pdf

[n2doc]

1. Sad. It has been a magnificent mission. n/t

[krispos42]

2. When this kind of thing happens...

...it makes me wish we could just park the spacecraft in orbit to await future recovery so that in a generation or two (hopefully) it could be brought back and justly honored.