Space whisperers: the Aussies guiding Cassini's suicide mission to Saturn
by Jonny Weeks from on (#2Z5RY)
The grand finale of Nasa's epic 20-year mission to the ringed planet will be overseen from a deep space centre near Canberra. A photo essay by Jonny Weeks
On 15 September 2017 at about 10pm AEST, Nasa's Cassini spacecraft will plunge deep into the hostile atmosphere of Saturn on a historic but suicidal course. It's the grand finale of a 20-year mission which has revolutionised our understanding of the solar system and sent home more than a quarter of a million stunning images of Saturn and its moons.
Cassini's instruments will be running to the last, capturing every possible byte of data from its closest encounter with the ringed planet before it ultimately evaporates.
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