The Saturn-orbiting spacecraft, Cassini, celebrates its tenth birthday on July 1. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has also selected a name for the spacecraft's final mission: the Cassini Grand Finale.
NASA launched the Cassini aboard a Titan IVB/Centaur in October 1997. The unmanned spacecraft entered Saturn's orbit on July 1 2004 and since then the spacecraft is studying the planet and its natural satellites. The spacecraft is also observing Jupiter and testing the theory of relativity.
On June 30, NASA announced the name of the final mission, which was selected from an input by 2,000 members of the public and team members of the Cassini mission.
"Starting in late 2016, the Cassini spacecraft will begin a daring set of orbits that is, in some ways, like a whole new mission. The spacecraft will repeatedly climb high above Saturn's north pole, flying just outside its narrow F ring. Cassini will probe the water-rich plume of the active geysers on the planet's intriguing moon Enceladus, and then will hop the rings and dive between the planet and innermost ring 22 times," per NASA.
Initially, NASA approved the Cassini for a four-year mission. However, the spacecraft made several significant observations and discoveries and the mission has since been extended.
On its way to Saturn, Cassini took around 26,000 images of Jupiter during a month long flyby. Cassini took the most detailed colored portrait of Jupiter yet. The spacecraft also gave scientist details about Jupiter's atmospheric circulation.
In 2004, the spacecraft also discovered three new moons of Saturn. Cassini also flew by Saturn's moon Phoebe in June 2004 and was able to make close-up studies since the Voyager 2 flyby. The spacecraft also detected massive water- ice plumes ejecting from the geysers located at the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus. Scientists believe that the discovery suggests the existence of liquid water beneath its surface covered with ice.
"Having a healthy, long-lived spacecraft at Saturn has afforded us a precious opportunity," says Linda Spilker, Cassini project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "By having a decade there with Cassini, we have been privileged to witness never-before-seen events that are changing our understanding of how planetary systems form and what conditions might lead to habitats for life."
NASA will continue the Cassini mission until 2017. Scientists suggest that till then the spacecraft will continue to transmit data to Earth before its intentional dive in Saturn's atmosphere, which will end the mission.
