Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Credit: NASA/JPL

“Brace yourselves. The end is near…”

That’s the word from Carolyn Porco, Cassini Imaging Team leader and Director of the Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations (CICLOPS) at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado.

Able ship

In a September 4 friends and colleagues message, Porco said: “We just got word today. Cassini’s 21st dive between the inner edge of the ring system and the planet went as expected. The thrusters kept her oriented properly despite the torque from the atmosphere. Such an able ship!”

Enceladus
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

One more dive

Meanwhile, this week’s Cassini image is considered one of the best looks at Enceladus, “that small moon at Saturn with the big possibilities,” Porco adds.

“It’s now just one more dive and 11 days to go before the final plunge,” Porco noted.

Fuel supply

Involved in the Cassini mission, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) noted:

“On September 15, 2017 the orbiter will be directed straight at Saturn to meet its fiery demise. The reason for this is that the fuel supply is coming to an end and NASA will lose control of the spacecraft in the foreseeable future. Scientists fear that the uncontrolled spacecraft might collide with one of Saturn’s icy moons that could be harboring life.”

At the end of its mission, the DLR posting adds that the orbiter will have circled Saturn 294 times, including 113 Titan flybys, 24 past the active ice moon Enceladus and 22 tight trajectories around other glacial moons.