The first batch of images from NASA's spacecraft Cassini has been revealed. On Oct. 14, the spacecraft started the series of close flybys of Saturn's moon Enceladus. In earlier flyby attempts, Enceladus was covered in icy darkness. This time, Cassini reached an altitude of 1,142 miles above the Enceladus' surface for the shots.
Enceladus' close up images were captured, Wednesday, Oct.14. The space agency received the images on Thursday, Oct. 15. The close up images reveal Enceladus' surface in high definition.
Based on the low-resolution images of Enceladus from the Voyager mission, scientists have long expected its north pole to be heavily battered. New images from the Cassini probe showed otherwise. In addition, its icy surface looks as if it has been clawed by a series of sharp objects, creating a spider web of thin cracks.
"The northern regions are crisscrossed by a spidery network of gossamer-thin cracks that slice through the craters. These thin cracks are ubiquitous on Enceladus, and now we see that they extend across the northern terrains as well," said Paul Helfenstein, who is part of the Cassini imaging team at Cornell University in New York.
Saturn's icy moon has intrigued since the release of its 2005 photos where it was found to be shooting ice crystals into space. Succeeding observations revealed that an ocean beneath its frozen surface can be an indication of a life source.
The photos were uploaded on NASA's Cassini Solstice Mission image gallery. The series of photos were taken using the CL1 and CL2 filters. The closest flyby at 30 miles from the moon's south pole is set on Oct. 28. This is the closest Cassini will get to the moon, penetrating its frosty spray in order to study the chemistry of the ocean that lies beneath the ice. Scientists hope to get evidence of hydrothermal activity in the Enceladus' global ocean, which could benefit studies looking into the ocean's habitability.
The series of flybys will end on Dec. 19 at an altitude of 3,106 miles from the moon's surface. Its final mission is to measure the heat level emerging from the moon's interior.
The moon was discovered by William Herschel in 1789. One full orbit around Saturn takes 32.8 hours at a distance of 147,500 miles. Saturn's Cassini-Huygens mission is a joint collaboration between NASA, the Italian Space Agency and the European Space Agency.
