Cassini, Saturn
Cassini, after orbiting Saturn for 13 fruitful years, was decommissioned in 2017 in one of the most epic ways imaginable, as NASA engineers instructed the probe to plunge directly into the ringed planet. During its lifespan, Cassini illuminated alien realms where methane runs like water and geysers of ice blast into space. It also captured the hauntingly beautiful dance of Saturn’s moons, at least two of which—Titan and Enceladus—could potentially harbor life.
In its final days, Cassini was running out of fuel, and NASA didn’t want to risk an out-of-control probe crashing into (and contaminating) one of those moons. When Cassini hit Saturn’s atmosphere, it likely burned up and disintegrated within a few minutes, according to NASA. Along with other data it was taking during its fatal plunge, the spacecraft sent images back to Earth. The last image, above, depicts a looming Saturn—huge in Cassini’s field of view—that welcomes Cassini on its final fall. In the bottom of the image, the rings are visible. The top half of the image shows the planet at night, facing away from the Sun but still illuminated by light reflected off the rings.
Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
