"Кассини" !

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tnt22

https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/resources/7778/
ЦитироватьDreamy Swirls on Saturn


 
September 12, 2017

NASA's Cassini spacecraft gazed toward the northern hemisphere of Saturn to spy subtle, multi-hued bands in the clouds there.

This view looks toward the terminator -- the dividing line between night and day -- at lower left. The sun shines at low angles along this boundary, in places highlighting vertical structure in the clouds. Some vertical relief is apparent in this view, with higher clouds casting shadows over those at lower altitude.
Спойлер
Images taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural-color view. The images were acquired on Aug. 31, 2017, at a distance of approximately 700,000 miles (1.1 million kilometers) from Saturn. Image scale is about 4 miles (6 kilometers) per pixel.

The Cassini mission is a cooperative project of NASA, ESA (the European Space Agency) and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and https://www.nasa.gov/cassini. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at https://ciclops.org.

Credit

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

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tnt22


che wi

Cassini's Death Dive Will Protect 2 Possibly Life-Supporting Saturn Moons
https://www.space.com/38131-cassini-death-dive-protect-titan-enceladus.html

che wi

Сейчас идёт пресс-конференция на NASA TV

tnt22

ЦитироватьCassini's Infrared Saturn | Director's Cut

NASA Goddard

Опубликовано: 12 сент. 2017 г.

NASA's Cassini spacecraft arrived at Saturn in 2004, beginning an epic thirteen-year tour of the ringed planet and its many moons. Cassini carried an impressive array of scientific instruments, including the Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) built at Goddard Space Flight Center. By studying the Saturn system in heat radiation, CIRS observed hot spots in a giant Saturn storm, discovered a new hydrocarbon in Titan's smoggy atmosphere, found unexpected surface heating on Mimas and Tethys, and even detected evidence of a liquid water ocean under the icy shell of Enceladus. Join instrument team members Micheal Flasar, Conor Nixon, and Carrie Anderson as they retell Cassini CIRS' greatest hits. This director's cut version features an extended introduction and conclusion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AbLq1nDuR8https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AbLq1nDuR8 (9:25)

tnt22

https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/grand-finale/for-media/#streaming
ЦитироватьNASA Live Streaming Channel Guide

Спойлер
[TH]CHANNEL[/TH][TH]URL[/TH][TH]
Sept. 13 at 10 a.m. PT[/TH][TH]Sept. 14 at 1 p.m. PT[/TH][TH]Sept. 15 at 3 a.m. PT[/TH][TH]Sept. 15 4 a.m. PT[/TH][TH]Sept. 15 6:30 a.m. PT[/TH][/TR][TR][TD]NASAJPL YouTube[/TD][TD]http://youtube.com/nasajpl/[/TD][TD]NASA Previews Saturn Mission End[/TD][TD]Cassini NASA Social[/TD][TD][/TD][TD]Cassini's End: Mission Control Live[/TD][TD]NASA Recap: Saturn End of Mission[/TD][/TR][TR][TD]NASAJPL2 Ustream[/TD][TD]http://ustream.tv/NASAJPL2[/TD][TD]NASA Previews Saturn Mission End[/TD][TD]Cassini NASA Social[/TD][TD][/TD][TD]Cassini's End: Mission Control Live[/TD][TD]NASA Recap: Saturn End of Mission[/TD][/TR][TR][TD]NASA Ustream[/TD][TD]http://www.nasa.gov/live[/TD][TD]NASA Previews Saturn Mission End[/TD][TD]Cassini NASA Social[/TD][TD][/TD][TD]Cassini's End: Mission Control Live[/TD][TD]NASA Recap: Saturn End of Mission[/TD][/TR][TR][TD]NASA TV Public[/TD][TD]http://www.nasa.gov/live[/TD][TD]NASA Previews Saturn Mission End[/TD][TD]Cassini NASA Social[/TD][TD][/TD][TD]Cassini's End: Mission Control Live[/TD][TD]NASA Recap: Saturn End of Mission[/TD][/TR][TR][TD]NASAJPL Facebook[/TD][TD]http://facebook.com/nasajpl[/TD][TD][/TD][TD][/TD][TD][/TD][TD]Cassini's End: Mission Control Live[/TD][TD][/TD][/TR][TR][TD]NASA Facebook[/TD][TD]http://facebook.com/NASA[/TD][TD][/TD][TD][/TD][TD][/TD][TD]Cassini's End: Mission Control Live[/TD][TD][/TD][/TR][TR][TD]NASAJPL Raw YouTube[/TD][TD]http://youtube.com/jplraw/[/TD][TD][/TD][TD][/TD][TD]Clean Feed[/TD][TD][/TD][TD][/TD][/TR][TR][TD]NASAJPL Ustream[/TD][TD]http://ustream.tv/NASAJPL[/TD][TD][/TD][TD][/TD][TD]Clean Feed[/TD][TD][/TD][TD][/TD][/TR][TR][TD]NASA TV Media[/TD][TD]https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html#media[/TD][TD][/TD][TD][/TD][TD]Clean Feed[/TD][TD][/TD][TD][/TD][/TR][TR][TD]LiveU Multipoint*[/TD][TD][/TD][TD][/TD][TD][/TD][TD]Clean Feed[/TD][TD][/TD][TD]NASA Recap: Saturn End of Mission[/TD][/TR][/TABLE]
*For Media Using LiveU Multipoint: Contact LiveU support at least two days in advance of event (by Sept. 13) at 1-877-885-4838 or help@liveu.tv to set up your feed. Tell them our group name: JPL.
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tnt22

https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/3119/cassini-spacecraft-makes-its-final-approach-to-saturn/
ЦитироватьSeptember 13, 2017
Cassini Spacecraft Makes Its Final Approach to Saturn


NASA's Cassini spacecraft is shown heading for the gap between Saturn and its rings during one of 22 such dives of the mission's finale in this illustration. The spacecraft will make a final plunge into the planet's atmosphere on Sept. 15.

NASA's Cassini spacecraft is on final approach to Saturn, following confirmation by mission navigators that it is on course to dive into the planet's atmosphere on Friday, Sept. 15.

Cassini is ending its 13-year tour of the Saturn system with an intentional plunge into the planet to ensure Saturn's moons – in particular Enceladus, with its subsurface ocean and signs of hydrothermal activity – remain pristine for future exploration. The spacecraft's fateful dive is the final beat in the mission's Grand Finale, 22 weekly dives, which began in late April, through the gap between Saturn and its rings. No spacecraft has ever ventured so close to the planet before.
Спойлер
The mission's final calculations predict loss of contact with the Cassini spacecraft will take place on Sept. 15 at 7:55 a.m. EDT (4:55 a.m. PDT). Cassini will enter Saturn's atmosphere approximately one minute earlier, at an altitude of about 1,190 miles (1,915 kilometers) above the planet's estimated cloud tops (the altitude where the air pressure is 1-bar, equivalent to sea level on Earth). During its dive into the atmosphere, the spacecraft's speed will be approximately 70,000 miles (113,000 kilometers) per hour. The final plunge will take place on the day side of Saturn, near local noon, with the spacecraft entering the atmosphere around 10 degrees north latitude.

When Cassini first begins to encounter Saturn's atmosphere, the spacecraft's attitude control thrusters will begin firing in short bursts to work against the thin gas and keep Cassini's saucer-shaped high-gain antenna pointed at Earth to relay the mission's precious final data. As the atmosphere thickens, the thrusters will be forced to ramp up their activity, going from 10 percent of their capacity to 100 percent in the span of about a minute. Once they are firing at full capacity, the thrusters can do no more to keep Cassini stably pointed, and the spacecraft will begin to tumble.

When the antenna points just a few fractions of a degree away from Earth, communications will be severed permanently. The predicted altitude for loss of signal is approximately 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) above Saturn's cloud tops. From that point, the spacecraft will begin to burn up like a meteor. Within about 30 seconds following loss of signal, the spacecraft will begin to come apart; within a couple of minutes, all remnants of the spacecraft are expected to be completely consumed in the atmosphere of Saturn.

Due to the travel time for radio signals from Saturn, which changes as both Earth and the ringed planet travel around the Sun, events currently take place there 86 minutes before they are observed on Earth. This means that, although the spacecraft will begin to tumble and go out of communication at 6:31 a.m. EDT (3:31 a.m. PDT) at Saturn, the signal from that event will not be received at Earth until 86 minutes later.

"The spacecraft's final signal will be like an echo. It will radiate across the solar system for nearly an hour and a half after Cassini itself has gone," said Earl Maize, Cassini project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. "Even though we'll know that, at Saturn, Cassini has already met its fate, its mission isn't truly over for us on Earth as long as we're still receiving its signal."

Cassini's last transmissions will be received by antennas at NASA's Deep Space Network complex in Canberra, Australia.

Cassini is set to make groundbreaking scientific observations of Saturn, using eight of its 12 science instruments. All of the mission's magnetosphere and plasma science instruments, plus the spacecraft's radio science system, and its infrared and ultraviolet spectrometers will collect data during the final plunge.

Chief among the observations being made as Cassini dives into Saturn are those of the Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS). The instrument will directly sample the composition and structure of the atmosphere, which cannot be done from orbit. The spacecraft will be oriented so that INMS is pointed in the direction of motion, to allow it the best possible access to oncoming atmospheric gases.

For the next couple of days, as Saturn looms ever larger, Cassini expects to take a last look around the Saturn system, snapping a few final images of the planet, features in its rings, and the moons Enceladus and Titan. The final set of views from Cassini's imaging cameras is scheduled to be taken and transmitted to Earth on Thursday, Sept. 14. If all goes as planned, images will be posted to the Cassini mission website beginning around 11 p.m. EDT (8 p.m. PDT). The unprocessed images will be available at:

https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/galleries/raw-images

Live mission commentary and video from JPL Mission Control will air on NASA Television from 7 to 8:30 a.m. EDT (4 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. PDT) on Sept. 15. A post-mission news briefing from JPL is currently scheduled for 9:30 a.m. EDT (6:30 a.m. PDT), also on NASA TV.

NASA TV is available online at:

https://www.nasa.gov/live

A new NASA e-book, The Saturn System Through the Eyes of Cassini, showcasing compelling images and key science discoveries from the mission, is available for free download in multiple formats at:

https://www.nasa.gov/ebooks

An online toolkit of information and resources about Cassini's Grand Finale and final plunge into Saturn is available at:

https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/grandfinale

Follow the Cassini spacecraft's plunge on social media using #GrandFinale, or visit:

https://twitter.com/CassiniSaturn

https://www.facebook.com/NASACassini

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Italian Space Agency. JPL, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL designed, developed and assembled the Cassini orbiter.

More information about Cassini:

https://www.nasa.gov/cassini

https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov

Media Contacts

Dwayne Brown / Laurie Cantillo
 Headquarters, Washington
 202-358-1726 / 202-358-1077
 dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov / laura.l.cantillo@nasa.gov

Preston Dyches
 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
 818-354-5011
 preston.dyches@jpl.nasa.gov
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tnt22

#2327
ЦитироватьNASA Previews Saturn Mission End (news briefing)

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

NOTE: While video edits are being processed, the press conference recording begins at timecode 13:42.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs-dscW95PEhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs-dscW95PE (59:42)

Или

ЦитироватьNASA Previews Cassini End of Mission Activities

NASA

Опубликовано: 14 сент. 2017 г.

On Sept. 13, NASA held a news conference from the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in Pasadena, California to discuss details of final mission activities for the agency's Cassini mission to Saturn. On Sept. 15, the Cassini spacecraft will complete its remarkable story of exploration with an intentional plunge into Saturn's atmosphere, ending its mission after nearly 20 years in space.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zy0dUu8eoohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zy0dUu8eoo (58:47)

tnt22

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=6945
ЦитироватьSeptember 13, 2017

Cassini Spacecraft Makes Its Final Approach to Saturn


NASA's Cassini spacecraft is shown heading for the gap between Saturn and its rings during one of 22 such dives of the mission's finale in this illustration. The spacecraft will make a final plunge into the planet's atmosphere on Sept. 15. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
› Full image and caption
Спойлер

Milestones in Cassini's final dive toward Saturn. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
› Larger view



Cassini's path into Saturn's upper atmosphere, with tick marks every 10 seconds. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
› Larger view



This unprocessed image of Titan was taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft during the mission's final, distant flyby on Sept. 11, 2017. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
› Larger view



Graphic showing the relative altitudes of Cassini's final five passes through Saturn's upper atmosphere, compared to the depth it reaches upon loss of communication with Earth. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
› Larger view
[свернуть]
NASA's Cassini spacecraft is on final approach to Saturn, following confirmation by mission navigators that it is on course to dive into the planet's atmosphere on Friday, Sept. 15.

Cassini is ending its 13-year tour of the Saturn system with an intentional plunge into the planet to ensure Saturn's moons - in particular Enceladus, with its subsurface ocean and signs of hydrothermal activity - remain pristine for future exploration. The spacecraft's fateful dive is the final beat in the mission's Grand Finale, 22 weekly dives, which began in late April, through the gap between Saturn and its rings. No spacecraft has ever ventured so close to the planet before.
Спойлер
The mission's final calculations predict loss of contact with the Cassini spacecraft will take place on Sept. 15 at 7:55 a.m. EDT (4:55 a.m. PDT). Cassini will enter Saturn's atmosphere approximately one minute earlier, at an altitude of about 1,190 miles (1,915 kilometers) above the planet's estimated cloud tops (the altitude where the air pressure is 1-bar, equivalent to sea level on Earth). During its dive into the atmosphere, the spacecraft's speed will be approximately 70,000 miles (113,000 kilometers) per hour. The final plunge will take place on the day side of Saturn, near local noon, with the spacecraft entering the atmosphere around 10 degrees north latitude.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg8DPtrh7hY
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg8DPtrh7hY 0:34)
Animation showing Cassini's orbits around Saturn during the mission's final phase, called the Grand Finale. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

When Cassini first begins to encounter Saturn's atmosphere, the spacecraft's attitude control thrusters will begin firing in short bursts to work against the thin gas and keep Cassini's saucer-shaped high-gain antenna pointed at Earth to relay the mission's precious final data. As the atmosphere thickens, the thrusters will be forced to ramp up their activity, going from 10 percent of their capacity to 100 percent in the span of about a minute. Once they are firing at full capacity, the thrusters can do no more to keep Cassini stably pointed, and the spacecraft will begin to tumble.

When the antenna points just a few fractions of a degree away from Earth, communications will be severed permanently. The predicted altitude for loss of signal is approximately 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) above Saturn's cloud tops. From that point, the spacecraft will begin to burn up like a meteor. Within about 30 seconds following loss of signal, the spacecraft will begin to come apart; within a couple of minutes, all remnants of the spacecraft are expected to be completely consumed in the atmosphere of Saturn.

Due to the travel time for radio signals from Saturn, which changes as both Earth and the ringed planet travel around the Sun, events currently take place there 83 minutes before they are observed on Earth. This means that, although the spacecraft will begin to tumble and go out of communication at 6:31 a.m. EDT (3:31 a.m. PDT) at Saturn, the signal from that event will not be received at Earth until 83 minutes later.

"The spacecraft's final signal will be like an echo. It will radiate across the solar system for nearly an hour and a half after Cassini itself has gone," said Earl Maize, Cassini project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. "Even though we'll know that, at Saturn, Cassini has already met its fate, its mission isn't truly over for us on Earth as long as we're still receiving its signal."

Cassini's last transmissions will be received by antennas at NASA's Deep Space Network complex in Canberra, Australia.

Cassini is set to make groundbreaking scientific observations of Saturn, using eight of its 12 science instruments. All of the mission's magnetosphere and plasma science instruments, plus the spacecraft's radio science system, and its infrared and ultraviolet spectrometers will collect data during the final plunge.

Chief among the observations being made as Cassini dives into Saturn are those of the Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS). The instrument will directly sample the composition and structure of the atmosphere, which cannot be done from orbit. The spacecraft will be oriented so that INMS is pointed in the direction of motion, to allow it the best possible access to oncoming atmospheric gases.

For the next couple of days, as Saturn looms ever larger, Cassini expects to take a last look around the Saturn system, snapping a few final images of the planet, features in its rings, and the moons Enceladus and Titan. The final set of views from Cassini's imaging cameras is scheduled to be taken and transmitted to Earth on Thursday, Sept. 14. If all goes as planned, images will be posted to the Cassini mission website beginning around 11 p.m. EDT (8 p.m. PDT). The unprocessed images will be available at:

https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/galleries/raw-images

Live mission commentary and video from JPL Mission Control will air on NASA Television from 7 to 8:30 a.m. EDT (4 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. PDT) on Sept. 15. A post-mission news briefing from JPL is currently scheduled for 9:30 a.m. EDT (6:30 a.m. PDT), also on NASA TV.

NASA TV is available online at:

https://www.nasa.gov/live

A new NASA e-book, The Saturn System Through the Eyes of Cassini, showcasing compelling images and key science discoveries from the mission, is available for free download in multiple formats at:

https://www.nasa.gov/ebooks

An online toolkit of information and resources about Cassini's Grand Finale and final plunge into Saturn is available at:

https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/grandfinale

Follow the Cassini spacecraft's plunge on social media using #GrandFinale, or visit:

https://twitter.com/CassiniSaturn

https://www.facebook.com/NASACassini

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Italian Space Agency. JPL, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL designed, developed and assembled the Cassini orbiter.

More information about Cassini:

https://www.nasa.gov/cassini

https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov

Updated at 1:30 p.m. PDT on Sept. 13, 2017 to correct travel time for a signal from Cassini to Earth from 86 minutes to 83 minutes.

News Media Contact

Dwayne Brown / Laurie Cantillo
 NASA Headquarters, Washington
 202-358-1726 / 202-358-1077
 dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov / laura.l.cantillo@nasa.gov

 Preston Dyches
 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
 818-354-7013
 preston.dyches@jpl.nasa.gov
[свернуть]

tnt22

Цитировать CassiniSaturn‏Подлинная учетная запись @CassiniSaturn 16 ч. назад

We captured these unprocessed images of Saturn's moon Titan on Sept. 12. More raw images: http://go.nasa.gov/cassiniraw 
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tnt22


tnt22

https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/grand-finale/cassini-end-of-mission-timeline/
Цитировать...
Sept 14
Signal received on Earth
3:58 pm EDT (12:58 pm PDT)Scheduled time when the final image will be taken by Cassini's cameras
4:22 pm EDT (1:22 pm PDT)Spacecraft turns antenna to Earth; communications pass begins for final playback from Cassini's data recorder, including final images. Communications link is continuous from now to end of mission (~14.5 hours)5:45 pm EDT (2:45 pm PDT)
Deep Space Network station in Canberra, Australia, takes over tracking Cassini to end of mission11:15 pm EDT (8:15 pm PDT)
...

tnt22

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/excitement-and-tears-as-nasa-goddard-team-prepares-for-cassini-finale
ЦитироватьSept. 12, 2017

Excitement and Tears as NASA Goddard Team Prepares for Cassini Finale

When the Cassini orbiter plunges into the atmosphere of Saturn on Sept. 15, a group of NASA scientists based in Greenbelt, Maryland, will be among those waiting for the spacecraft's last long-distance ping. That bittersweet signal will mark the end of an era for the team, which has devoted two decades to operating the spacecraft's heat-ray detector, called the Composite Infrared Spectrometer or CIRS.
Спойлер
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt is the headquarters for CIRS, and the place where the instrument was designed and built, with contributions from international partners.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIE-cSGVYuI
Goddard scientists and engineers who are responsible for Cassini's heat-ray detector called the Composite Infrared Spectrometer, or CIRS, will be among the people waiting for the spacecraft's final signal on Sept. 15. Members of the team discuss some of the instrument's high-profile contributions to understanding the Saturn system. A longer version of the video is available here. https://youtu.be/7AbLq1nDuR8
Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Download video in HD formats from NASA Goddard's Scientific Visualization Studio.

The Goddard team has uploaded more than 1.4 million commands to CIRS, one of 12 instruments on the Cassini orbiter. In return, CIRS has sent almost 2 terabytes' worth of data and image products. The instrument is credited with a string of scientific homeruns, revealing features that were so unexpected, some were almost beyond imagination.

"The Cassini mission and the CIRS instrument have been phenomenally productive, transforming our understanding of Saturn and its system," said Goddard's Conor Nixon, the deputy principal investigator for CIRS.

Cassini was launched in 1997 and took an epic seven-year journey to Saturn, including a flyby of Jupiter. The spacecraft has spent the past 13 years investigating Saturn and its rings and moons.
CIRS is one of the instruments that gives Cassini its superhuman senses. It detects light, but instead of visible wavelengths, it senses heat, or thermal infrared radiation, in much the same way our hands feel the warmth of a fire.

"Using CIRS is like putting on night-vision goggles," said Goddard's Carrie Anderson, a CIRS co-investigator. "We can see in the dark. We do not need sunlight."

The value of remote infrared sensing for studying planets and moons had been demonstrated by CIRS' immediate predecessor, the Infrared Interferometer Spectrometer, or IRIS, on Voyager 1 and 2.

"CIRS was designed to be the next-generation instrument, taking IRIS' legacy of discovery a step further," said Goddard's F. Michael Flasar, the principal investigator for CIRS.

CIRS separates light into its component colors, like raindrops creating a rainbow, and measures the strength of the different wavelengths, or "colors," of the heat rays. This allows the instrument to act as a remote-sensing thermometer and as a chemical probe, picking out radiation fingerprints of individual gases glowing in an atmosphere. The instrument does all this from a distance, while orbiting or passing by a planet.

The instrument covers most of the infrared spectrum, from the last wavelengths of red light (7 micrometers) to the start of the microwave region (1 millimeter).

"CIRS is really two very powerful instruments in one, and the combination let us push new boundaries in planetary science," said Goddard's Don Jennings, a CIRS co-investigator.

CIRS has made some stunning discoveries, such as spotting a heat signature reminiscent of the 1980s video-game icon Pac-Man on Saturn's moons Mimas and Tethys. After a massive storm roiled the northern hemisphere of Saturn, CIRS tracked unprecedented hot spots and recorded an off-the-chart outburst of gas. The instrument also helped decipher the mystery of the plumes near the south pole of Enceladus, by mapping the intensity of heat along the cracks called tiger stripes.

True to its role as IRIS' successor, CIRS is answering some questions about the atmosphere of Titan that were raised by Voyager's studies. CIRS picked up the presence of propylene, a chemical related to propane that was mysteriously missing when Voyager detected other members of that family. The Cassini instrument also spotted a second occurrence of an "impossible" ice cloud that could not be explained by simple condensation when IRIS saw it. And CIRS witnessed a buildup of clouds above the south pole that marked the long-awaited change of seasons on Titan.

Over the years, nearly 300 scientists and engineers have worked on the instrument. This list includes the operations group at Goddard and a science team that's spread across the U.S. and Europe. Some have only been with CIRS for a few years. Others started working on the instrument concept even before the Cassini mission was sel ected 27 years ago.

With such a long collective history, the final countdown evokes some tears for CIRS.

"We're like family on this team," said Goddard's Marcia Segura, leader of CIRS' operations team. "We're spending the last days of the mission celebrating Cassini's wonderful life along with the public, and doing some mourning privately. As we move on to other professional challenges, the years we spent on CIRS will become precious memories."

All activity on CIRS won't stop on the day of Cassini's plunge, of course. There will be some closing out to do, and plenty of data yet to analyze. In Flasar's view, that means the legacy of CIRS will live on.
"When you build an instrument like CIRS, the knowledge gained will persist long after the spacecraft is gone," Flasar said. "And if the mission inspires young people to pursue this kind of work, that's a lasting contribution to science and to society."

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Italian Space Agency. JPL manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The CIRS team is based at Goddard.

For more information about Cassini and CIRS, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/cassini/

For more information about Cassini's Grand Finale, visit:

https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/grand-finale/overview/

Download video in HD formats fr om NASA Goddard's Scientific Visualization Studio:

https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12709

...

By Elizabeth Zubritsky
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
[свернуть]
Last Updated: Sept. 13, 2017
Editor: Sara Blumberg

tnt22

Цитировать NASA‏Подлинная учетная запись @NASA 2 ч. назад

From seas of liquid methane on the moon Titan, to Saturn's aurora, here are some of @CassiniSaturn's top discoveries https://nasa.tumblr.com/post/165331742919/cassini-spacecraft-top-discoveries ...
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zandr

http://tass.ru/kosmos/4560669
ЦитироватьЯркий финал Cassini: станция войдет в атмосферу Сатурна и прекратит существование

Зонд Cassini в представлении художника© NASA
НЬЮ-ЙОРК, 14 сентября. /Корр. ТАСС Игорь Борисенко/. Многолетняя программа исследований системы Сатурна завершится в пятницу, 15 сентября, ярким финалом: автоматическая межпланетная станция Cassini войдет в плотные слои атмосферы планеты-гиганта и прекратит свое существование.
Как сообщил в среду на пресс-конференции в NASA руководитель программы полета Cassini Эрл Мейз, в минувшую субботу станция в последний раз прошла на расстоянии 190 тыс. км от спутника Сатурна - Титана - и вышла на траекторию входа в верхние слои атмосферы Сатурна.
"Автоматическая станция перед входом в атмосферу Сатурна примет такую ориентацию, чтобы ее главная антенна была направлена на Землю, - отметил он. - Аппаратура станции сделает последнюю серию снимков Сатурна. В четверг, 14 сентября, на протяжении 11 часов они будут переданы на Землю. После этого аппаратура станции будет переведена в такой режим, чтобы обеспечить прямую передачу научной информации при входе в атмосферу планеты".
Последние секунды полета
"Мы хотим получить как можно больше информации в период входа станции в атмосферу Сатурна", - подчеркнул Мейз. По оценкам ученого последний сигнал с Cassini может поступить в пятницу, 15 сентября, в 04:55 по времени Тихоокеанского побережья (14:55 мск).
Как считает эксперт NASA Линда Спайкер, последней с Cassini поступит информация со спектрографа, а также данные о магнитном поле Сатурна. По расчетам, станция прекратит свое существование в течение одной-двух минут - она полностью сгорит в атмосфере планеты. Специалисты NASA проводили моделирование процесса распада станции и пришли к выводу, что последним прекратит свое существование блок с радиоизотопным источником питания станции.
За входом Cassini в атмосферу Сатурна будут наблюдать телескопы с Земли, однако условия для наблюдения, как отметила Линда Спайкер, не слишком благоприятные: станция войдет в атмосферу на освещенной стороне Сатурна.
Исследования системы Сатурна
Экспедиция Cassini началась еще в октябре 1997 года, ее основной целью было исследование Сатурна и Титана, в том числе доставка на спутник спускаемого модуля Huygens. С этой задачей Cassini успешно справился в 2005 году. Миссия является совместным проектом NASA, а также Европейского и Итальянского космических агентств.
В апреле текущего года ученые объявили о том, что Cassini обнаружил новые свидетельства гидротермальной активности на спутнике Сатурна Энцеладе, которые подтверждают, что в его подледном океане могут быть условия, пригодные для существования жизни. В октябре 2015 года Cassini пролетел примерно в 50 км от поверхности южного полюса Энцелада и взял пробы для химического анализа состава его "фонтанов" - бьющих из расщелин в ледовой коре струй воды с частицами льда, которые питает находящийся под поверхностью океан. Исследование продолжалось полтора года, и в итоге ученым удалось обнаружить молекулярный водород, наиболее вероятным источником которого специалисты называют гидротермальные реакции.
А в 2012 году было объявлено о получении при помощи инструментов, установленных на Cassini, доказательств существования океана на глубине 100 км под ледяной поверхностью Титана и сотен озер и трех морей в полярных регионах этого спутника Сатурна.
Будет ли продолжение?
Журналистов на пресс-конференции интересовал вопрос о том, можно ли ожидать в обозримом будущем отправки новых станций к Сатурну. Как отметил руководитель отдела планетарных исследований NASA Джим Грин, предложения по исследованию системы Сатурна, в первую очередь спутников планеты-гиганта - Титана и Энцелада - включены в перспективный план NASA New Horizons. Рассмотрение этого плана, по его словам, продолжается.
Он подчеркнул, что данные, собранные Cassini, потребуют длительного изучения. "Ученым хватит работы на долгие годы", - добавил он, заметив при этом, что опыт, накопленный при управлении полетом Cassini, потребуется в ходе запланированного полета автоматической станции к Юпитеру.

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Цитировать Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight 25 мин. назад

FEATURE ARTICLE: Farewell, Cassini: a 20 year mission to Saturn comes to a life-protecting end - https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/09/farewell-cassini-20-year-mission-saturn-end/ ... - by @CwG_NSF
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