Final Frontier

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

This view of Saturn looks toward the planet's night side, lit by sunlight reflected from the rings. A mosaic of some of the very last images captured by Cassini’s cameras, it shows the location where the spacecraft would enter the planet's atmosphere hours later. The oval marks the entry site. While this area was on the night side of the planet at the time, it would rotate into daylight by the time Cassini made its final dive into Saturn's upper atmosphere, ending its remarkable 13-year exploration of Saturn.

Source / Image Courtesy

In its final hours, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft returned these last looks at Saturn, its rings and moons, as it prepared to end its nearly 20-year voyage in space. This video includes the final image Cassini took, which shows the cloud tops where it would later plunge into the atmosphere.

 

NASA’s biggest spacecraft plunges into Saturn in the final act of a 20-year mission showcasing the planet like never before.