NASA's Cassini is back to near equatorial orbit this year, providing new flyby opportunities for the spacecraft. It most recently flew by Dione, bringing back stunning closeups of one of Saturn's moons.
In Jan. 11, Cassini accomplished a Titan flyby, offering information on the moon's three seas. The "magic island" first seen in 2013 was also examined following observations that it had changed appearance by 2014. The next Titan flyby occurred on Feb. 12, with the visible and infrared mapping spectrometer (VIMS) taking a high-resolution look across the moon's south polar vortex. Cassini also imaged Titan's atmosphere and surface above the equatorial sub-Saturnian hemisphere, including eastern Aztian and northern Tsegihi.
In Mar. 16, the spacecraft used a high-resolution VIMS map of the moon's north polar lakes, capturing a vivid mosaic of the area to assess for changes that may have occurred with the summer solstice. In May 7, the VIMS instrument moved on to create a mosaic of the Xanadu region. An impact crater called Minerva was also closely observed, as well as the areas of western Xanadu and eastern Shangri-La.
By June 16, Cassini finished its first flyby of Dione, with its cameras mapping the sub-Saturn portion of the moon's trailing side. "Eurotas Chasmata," a tectonically deformed terrain, was also observed. Back to Titan on July 7, the spacecraft used the composite infrared spectrometer to carry out limb sounding observations while VIMS was utilized to capture the Quivira plateau and the Aztian and Fensal dune fields.
At its second flyby to Dione on Aug. 17, Cassini conducted a gravity experiment to examine the moon's internal structure and its shell's rigidity to give NASA insight it can use to compare Saturn's moons.
For the rest of the year, the spacecraft's schedule is as follows:
- Sept. 28. Back again on Titan, Cassini will be observing interactions between the moon's netural atmosphere and ionosphere and Saturn's magnetosphere.
- Oct. 14. Flying by Enceladus, the spacecraft will be imaging the moon's north polar regions. This was not possible earlier in the mission because that part of Enceladus was in darkness.
- Oct. 28. At this point, Cassini should be around 30 miles of the south pole of Enceladus. This flyby will coincide with the release of plumes from the moon, allowing the spacecraft to take the most accurate measurements yet of the composition of the plume.
- Nov. 13. The spacecraft is back to Titan, making its closest approach. This will let Cassini capture high-resolution images of the moon's leading hemisphere above Xanadu. Limb-sounding in the south pole and VIMS-mapping in the north will also be done.
- Dec. 6. Protective measures will be employed to make sure Cassini passes through a region with high ring-particle concentration safely.
- Dec. 19. The last flyby for Enceladus will have the spacecraft observing the south polar terrain of the moon.
