【】

Cassini shot the gap and lived to tell the tale.
The Saturn-exploring spacecraft managed to successfully fly through the 1,500 mile gap between Saturn and its rings and survive seemingly unscathed.
New photos beamed home after it completed that daredevil maneuver show the planet's atmosphere from a closer distance than ever before. At its nearest point, Cassini flew about 1,900 miles above Saturn's clouds, which are mainly comprised of hydrogen and helium.
SEE ALSO:Cassini's stellar Saturn maneuvers get the adorable celebration they deserveWhile the unprocessed images still look pretty rough, they show details of Saturn's atmosphere that aren't usually on display.

"No spacecraft has ever been this close to Saturn before. We could only rely on predictions, based on our experience with Saturn's other rings, of what we thought this gap between the rings and Saturn would be like," Cassini project manager Earl Maize said in a statement.
NASA was confident that Cassini would move into its new orbit without much of a problem, but it was still a risky maneuver.
No spacecraft has ever explored this part of Saturn before, and Cassini was moving at about 77,000 miles per hour as it shot between the large planet and its rings. If even a relatively small particle had dinged the craft during its dive, it could have destroyed the spacecraft.

Cassini -- which has been studying Saturn and its dozens of moons on humanity's behalf for 13 years -- is nearing the end of its mission. But it's not quite finished with its daredevil-like feats.
The spacecraft is expected to dive through the gap between Saturn and its rings a total of 22 times, with the next drop happening on May 2.
The mission will come to an end on September 15 when Cassini makes a planned plunge into Saturn's atmosphere, burning up in the process.
Featured Video For You
Watch clouds move above Saturn's largest moon in new NASA video
相关文章
Fyvush Finkel, Emmy winner for 'Picket Fences,' dies at 93
NEW YORK (AP) — Actor Fyvush Finkel, the plastic-faced Emmy Award-winning character actor whos2025-07-31Singapore gets world's first driverless taxis
SINGAPORE -- The world's first self-driving taxis started picking up passengers in Singapore on Thur2025-07-31Carlos Beltran made a very interesting hair choice
Apparently the Texas Rangers' Carlos Beltran is taking hair advice from another Carlos in sports --2025-07-31Pole vaulter claims his penis is not to blame
Following the cringeworthy moment in which pole vaulter Hiroki Ogita's penis grazed the bar and he f2025-07-31Here's what 'Game of Thrones' actors get up to between takes
Warning: Contains some mild Season 6 spoilers right at the end (the video is spoiler-free).。LONDON -2025-07-31New Zealand designer's photo series celebrates the elegance of aging
Not only is age nothin’ but a number -- it can be a asset when it comes to style. 。 That’2025-07-31
最新评论