Saturn's Grandeur | NASA's Cassini Mission

Saturn's Grandeur | NASA Cassini Mission

The Cassini spacecraft ended its mission on Sept. 15, 2017. Cassini's end involved a series of close Saturn passes, approaching within the rings, then an entry into Saturn's atmosphere to destroy the spacecraft. This method was chosen because it is necessary to ensure protection and prevent biological contamination to any of the moons of Saturn thought to offer potential habitability.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit: https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and www.nasa.gov/cassini

The Cassini-Huygens mission was a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, managed the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center was based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado.

Technical details: Processed using RED, GRN, BL1 filtered images taken by Cassini's WAC on August 19, 2012.

Credit: NASA/Jet Propuslion Laboratory-Caltech/Space Science Institute (SSI)/Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations (CICLOPS)

Processing: Kevin M. Gill

Image Date: Aug. 19, 2012

Release Date: Feb. 8, 2023

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