After 20 years in space, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft is nearing the end of its remarkable journey of exploration.
NASA will provide live coverage, commentary, interviews and analysis:
7-8:30 a.m. EDT (4-5:30 a.m. PDT, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. GMT, 1-2:30 p.m. CEST): live commentary on NASA TV and online; an uninterrupted, clean feed of cameras from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Mission Control, with mission audio only, will be available on the NASA TV Media Channel and on Ustream.
9:30 a.m. EDT (6:30 a.m. PDT, 1:30 p.m. GMT, 3:30 p.m. CEST): Cassini post-mission news conference from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
This still is from a short computer-animated film that highlights Cassini’s accomplishments and Saturn and reveals the science-packed final orbits between April and September 2017. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.
Milestones in Cassini’s final dive toward Saturn. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.
Cassini is ending its 13-year tour of the Saturn system with an intentional plunge into the gas giant to ensure Saturn’s moons — in particular Enceladus, with its subsurface ocean and signs of hydrothermal activity — remain pristine for future exploration.
The current predicted time for loss of signal on Earth is 7:55 a.m. EDT (4:55 a.m. PDT, 11:55 a.m. GMT, 1:55 p.m. CEST).
Cassini will enter Saturn’s atmosphere approximately one minute earlier, at an altitude of about 1,190 miles (1,915 km) above the planet’s cloud tops. During its dive into the atmosphere, the spacecraft’s speed will be approximately 70,000 miles (113,000 km) per hour.
This unprocessed image of Saturn and its rings was taken by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft on September 13, 2017. It is among the last images Cassini will send back. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.
This unprocessed image was taken by Cassini on September 13. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.
Latest Updates from NASA:
September 15, 7:55 a.m. EDT (4:55 a.m. PDT, 11:55 a.m. GMT, 1:55 p.m. CEST):
Cassini has completed its mission at Saturn. As predicted, the spacecraft lost contact with Earth at 7:55 a.m. EDT (4:55 a.m. PDT, 11:55 a.m. GMT, 1:55 p.m. CEST).
September 15, 6:31 a.m. EDT (3:31 a.m. PDT, 10:31 a.m. GMT, 12:31 p.m. CEST):
Cassini is scheduled to begin its entry into Saturn’s atmosphere soon, with a confirming signal received on Earth at 7:55 a.m. EDT (4:55 a.m. PDT, 11:55 a.m. GMT, 1:55 p.m. CEST). Engineers anticipate loss of contact about one minute later.
September 15, 4:55 a.m. EDT (1:55 a.m. PDT, 8:55 a.m. GMT, 10:55 a.m. CEST):
Cassini engineers have received the signal that the spacecraft has started a 5-min roll to point the instrument that will sample Saturn’s atmosphere (INMS) into the optimal direction, facing the direction of the oncoming gases. Along with this roll, Cassini is reconfiguring its systems for real-time data transmission at a rate of 27 kilobits per second (3.4 kilobytes per second). Final, real-time relay of data starts immediately after. That relay marks the beginning of Cassini’s final plunge.
September 14, 7:45 p.m. EDT (4:45 p.m. PDT, 11:45 p.m. GMT, 1:45 a.m. CEST on September 15):
Cassini has begun transmitting data — including the final images taken by its imaging cameras — in advance of its final plunge into Saturn. The spacecraft is in the process of emptying its onboard solid-state recorder of all science data, prior to reconfiguring for a near-real-time data relay during the final plunge. The communications link with the spacecraft is continuous from now through the end of mission (about 12 hours).
