您现在的位置是:焦點 >>正文

【】Its fiery death comes as no surprise.

焦點1人已围观

简介No one can ever say that Cassini went quietly into its good night.。 At about 7:55 a.m. ET on Friday, ...

No one can ever say that Cassini went quietly into its good night. 。

At about 7:55 a.m. ET on Friday, mission controllers on Earth got official word that the Cassini spacecraft -- a joint operation of NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Italian Space Agency -- had burned up in Saturn's atmosphere, vaporizing in about one minute. 。

SEE ALSO:Cassini says goodbye with its final photos from Saturn。

"We have loss of signal," one of the mission managers said, as Cassini's final dispatch from Saturn ended.。

"We have loss of signal," one of the mission managers said, as Cassini's final dispatch from Saturn ended.。

Mashable GamesIts fiery death comes as no surprise.。

Via Giphy 。

Scientists have been planning to send Cassini into Saturn's atmosphere for some time. Instead of allowing Cassini to spin out of control, possibly impacting one of the planet's moons that could host life, mission controllers sent it on a collision course with the planet it spent more than a decade gazing upon for our benefit. 。

The Cassini spacecraft launched in 1997. It has been exploring Saturn and its many moons since it arrived at the ringed planet in 2004.。

Cassini followed along as Saturn went through its alien seasons and made plenty of discoveries along the way. The spacecraft is responsible for transforming our understanding of Saturn's part of the solar system, sending back photos of moons never before seen from close range, and finding evidence of an ocean beneath the moon Enceladus' icy crust. 。Mashable Light SpeedWant more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories?Mashable Light SpeedWant more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories?Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. 。

By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.。

Thanks for signing up!。

In total, Cassini took more than 450,000 photos, orbited Saturn 294 times, and traveled 4.9 billion miles since launch.  。

And up until the end, Cassini was doing what it does best: Gathering and sending back invaluable data to eager researchers back on the planet that bore it.。

The spacecraft beamed back data to scientists on Earth up until the moment it started to break apart like a meteor in Saturn's atmosphere. 。

Mashable ImageOne of the craft's instruments, the ion and neutral mass spectrometer, tasted the planet's atmosphere during its descent through it, relaying its findings to Earth as one of its last gasps of communication. 。

This kind of data could help scientists figure out how Saturn evolved, even though its mission is now over. We've never been able to sample Saturn's atmosphere directly before, so even in its death, Cassini is breaking new ground. 。

Artist's illustration of Cassini at Saturn.Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech。

Artist's illustration of Cassini at Saturn.Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech 。


And perhaps that's the best way to honor Cassini now that it's gone.。
The spacecraft has contributed so much to our knowledge of the solar system, and its data will be used for decades to come. Scientists will continue to pour over the bits and pieces of the information Cassini gathered to come up with new theories, validate ideas, and bolster previous work. 。
Yet aside from one mission to Europa planned in the coming years, NASA has no missions on the books back to Saturn or other planets in the outer solar system. Our close-range eye on that part of our cosmic backyard is now closed.。Featured Video For You。Featured Video For You 。NASA has discovered a water world in our solar system capable of sustaining life。

Tags:

相关文章

  • Nate Parker is finally thinking about the woman who accused him of rape

    焦點

    Nate Parker is getting a crash course in male privilege after, in his own words, not thinking about ...

    焦點

    阅读更多
  • 金銀花治嬰兒濕疹方法

    焦點

    金銀花是一種藥物 ,這種藥物是可以幫助我們治療濕疹的 ,還可以清熱解毒等 ,而且金銀花還有很多的藥用價值,大家要了解金銀花的藥用價值。金銀花用於治療濕疹是需要將金銀花放進鍋裏麵熬水 ,然後在將金銀花給寶寶洗澡 ...

    焦點

    阅读更多
  • 早產兒做腦部核磁共振

    焦點

    每一個爸爸媽媽都希望自己的孩子能夠健健康康的出生與成長  ,但是在生活中難免會有意外,產生部分孕婦就由於自身原因或者胎兒本身的原因,導致胎兒提前降生。對於早產兒來說都需要在保溫箱裏待著 ,與此同時醫生還會建 ...

    焦點

    阅读更多