{"id":339480,"date":"2017-04-28T00:08:22","date_gmt":"2017-04-27T16:08:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/techcrunch.com\/?p=1482350"},"modified":"2017-04-28T00:08:22","modified_gmt":"2017-04-27T16:08:22","slug":"cassini-successfully-dives-between-saturn-and-its-rings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/cassini-successfully-dives-between-saturn-and-its-rings\/","title":{"rendered":"Cassini successfully dives between Saturn and its rings"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The veteran\u00a0Cassini<\/a> spacecraft has pulled off an impressive\u00a0high speed manoeuvre: passing between the narrow gap between Saturn\u2019s upper atmosphere and the planet\u2019s rings, traveling at speeds of around 77,000mph.<\/p>\n

Colliding with the rings\u2019 particles at such speeds could potentially have\u00a0disabled the craft \u2014 but the first (ever) ring-crossing was\u00a0executed successfully. It\u2019s the closest a spacecraft has ever been to Saturn, the\u00a0Solar System\u2019s sixth planet.<\/p>\n

The current set of planned passes are shown\u00a0below in blue, with Cassini\u2019s earlier ring-grazing orbits shown in grey:<\/p>\n

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Credit: NASA \/ Jet Propulsion Laboratory \u2013 Caltech<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The scientists running the Cassini mission had to hold their breath for a while yesterday while they waited to see if the craft\u00a0had successfully navigated the gap \u2014\u00a0as an extra precaution they had oriented its dish-shaped antenna in the direction of the oncoming ring particles to act as a shield, meaning the spacecraft was out of contact with Earth during the ring-plane crossing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe could only rely on predictions, based on our experience with Saturn\u2019s other rings, of what we thought this gap between the rings and Saturn would be like,\u201d said Cassini project manager Earl Maize of NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in a statement<\/a>. \u201cI am delighted to report that Cassini shot through the gap just as we planned and has come out the other side in excellent shape.\u201d<\/p>\n

The veteran, 20-year-old spacecraft is now sending back fresh science and engineering data collected during the\u00a0passage and while it was\u00a0close to the planet.\u00a0The\u00a0scientists will also be using data gathered during the first dive to figure out if they need to take the shielding precaution next time around.<\/p>\n

NASA says\u00a0that Cassini came within around\u00a01,900 miles of Saturn\u2019s cloud tops and within about 200 miles of the innermost visible edge of the rings as it made the\u00a0manoeuvre. The\u00a0gap between the rings and the top of Saturn\u2019s atmosphere is about 1,500 miles\u00a0wide.<\/p>\n

What are the scientists hoping to learn from this component\u00a0of the Cassini mission? They\u2019re using the close encounters with Saturn and its rings to take\u00a0what they describe as \u201cunprecedented measurements\u201d of its\u00a0atmospheric composition and interior structure.<\/p>\n

Given the craft is passing\u00a0closer than ever to Saturn it\u2019s\u00a0able to send back high resolution views of the innermost rings and the planet\u2019s atmospheric features \u2014 which could lead to new observations.<\/p>\n

NASA is already showing\u00a0a trio\u00a0of unprocessed images<\/a>\u00a0from the first dive:<\/p>\n

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Credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/Space Science Institute<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The ring-crossing Cassini data will also enable mission\u00a0scientists\u00a0to measure\u00a0Saturn\u2019s gravity and magnetic fields to study its interior structure; reveal its internal rotation rate; and provide a basic understanding of how giant planets form and how they work.<\/p>\n

Another specific aim is to determine the mass\u00a0of the rings \u2014 and estimate ring system age and longevity. Determining the mass of the rings could in turn shed light on how rings form, and potentially also how all planets form, they say.<\/p>\n

Cassini\u00a0will be\u00a0taking direct samples of ring particles, as well as samples of Saturn\u2019s innermost radiation belts and\u00a0upper atmosphere.<\/p>\n

A second dive between Saturn and its rings is scheduled for\u00a0May 2. They\u2019re\u00a0aiming to make 22 ring dives in all \u2014 before the mission concludes (hence the \u201cgrand finale\u201d moniker).<\/p>\n

Cassini\u2019s final, terminal plunge is illustrated above, on the second image in this post,\u00a0as\u00a0the single\u00a0orange line.<\/p>\n