Tick Tock… time to say Goodbye! Spacecraft Cassini’s fiery finale gets closer; NASA to stream live

NewsBharati 15-Sep-2017

Total Views |

Canberra, September 15: On its way to ‘bid adieu’, Spacecraft Cassini entered into its final stage. Only a few minutes are left and then this spacecraft will plunge into the Saturn’s atmosphere today. NASA will be streaming the live – video of Cassini spacecraft. And down here on Earth, scientists will gather at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge to await the signal that their beloved spacecraft is no more — and you can join them live.

Spacecraft Cassini has transmitted the final images of its mission, revealing one last look at Saturn, its vast expanse of rings, and its mysterious moons before the spacecraft plunges into the planet's atmosphere.Cassini will dive into Saturn's atmosphere travelling at a speed of roughly 70,000 miles per hour, before sending out a final signal that will radiate across the solar system 'like an echo.' By the time this transmission reaches Earth, Cassini itself will be gone. The data will take 86 minutes to reach NASA antennas in Canberra, Australia.

At 07:00 EST ( 4:30 IST) a live commentary will begin on Nasa TV and online, as well as an uninterrupted, clean feed of cameras from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Mission Control, with mission audio only. Since Cassini is running low on fuel, NASA is crashing it into Saturn to avoid any chance the spacecraft could someday collide with and contaminate Titan, Enceladus or another moon that has the potential for indigenous microbial life.

Overall Cassini spacecraft has produced 450,000 images and 635 gigabytes of data since it began probing Saturn and its 62 known moons in July 2004. Cassini is a cooperative project between NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency.

Spacecraft Cassini NASA Saturn