Australian Sky & Telescope — January 01, 2018

L

aunched in 1997, Cassini flew

by Venus twice, then past

Earth, an asteroid and Jupiter on its

way to Saturn. Finally reaching its

destination after a 7-year journey, it

went into orbit on July 1, 2004, and

later released the European Space

Agency’s Huygens probe, which

sniffed the atmosphere of Titan

during its descent and landing in early

2005. Planned as a 4-year mission,
      Cassini ended its 13 years in residence
      when it plunged into the atmosphere
      of the planet on September 15, 2017.

The Cassini orbiter, having executed its Grand Finale,

has revolutionised our knowledge of the Saturnian system.

It’s that simple, and that profound.

NASA / JPL

http://www.skyandtelescope.com.au 27