Scientists hope to learn if the rings are as http://www.bhsbearings.com Journal Pad for sale old as Saturn itself -- roughly 4.".NASA is hoping Cassini will survive long enough for 22 dives inside the rings, revealing details about the their age and composition."Were flying in a region that has never been explored before," she said. But if a ring particle hits Cassini, it could bring the mission to an premature end because the spacecraft will be travelling at more than 70,000 miles per hour (112,654 kph). 15. To avoid any chance that hitchhiking Earth microbes still alive on Cassini could contaminate any potential living organisms on Enceladus, NASA plans to crash the spacecraft, which is running out of fuel, into Saturn on Sept.6 billion years of age -- or if they formed later after a passing comet or moon was shredded by the planets tremendous gravity.During the close ring encounters, Cassini also will study Saturns atmosphere and take measurements to determine the size of the rocky core believed to exist at the centre of the gigantic ball of gas that accounts for most of its size.
"At those speeds, even a tiny particle can do damage," Cassini flight engineer Joan Stupik, with NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, told reporters during a news conference on NASA TV.Since arriving at Saturn in July 2004, Cassini has been exploring the giant planet and its entourage of 62 known moons, including enigmatic Titan, believed by scientists to resemble an early Earth, and the ocean-bearing moon Enceladus, which is shooting ice particles out into space. On April 22, Cassini will make a final pass by Titan and use the moons gravity to slingshot itself into a new orbit that passes inside the 1,200-mile (1,930-km) wide gap between the edge of Saturns atmosphere and its inner-most rings.However long Cassini lasts, "the grand finale will be spectacular," said project scientist Linda Spilker, also with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.But before its demise, Cassini has one last mission.NASA is preparing to send its long-lived Cassini probe into the unexplored region between Saturn and its rings for a scientific grand finale before the spacecrafts suicidal plunge into the planet, space officials said on Tuesday.
"I wouldnt be a bit surprised if some of the discoveries we make with Cassini during the grand finale are the best of the mission.
"At those speeds, even a tiny particle can do damage," Cassini flight engineer Joan Stupik, with NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, told reporters during a news conference on NASA TV.Since arriving at Saturn in July 2004, Cassini has been exploring the giant planet and its entourage of 62 known moons, including enigmatic Titan, believed by scientists to resemble an early Earth, and the ocean-bearing moon Enceladus, which is shooting ice particles out into space. On April 22, Cassini will make a final pass by Titan and use the moons gravity to slingshot itself into a new orbit that passes inside the 1,200-mile (1,930-km) wide gap between the edge of Saturns atmosphere and its inner-most rings.However long Cassini lasts, "the grand finale will be spectacular," said project scientist Linda Spilker, also with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.But before its demise, Cassini has one last mission.NASA is preparing to send its long-lived Cassini probe into the unexplored region between Saturn and its rings for a scientific grand finale before the spacecrafts suicidal plunge into the planet, space officials said on Tuesday.
"I wouldnt be a bit surprised if some of the discoveries we make with Cassini during the grand finale are the best of the mission.
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