23 Nov 2016

On Nov. 30, 2016, NASA's Cassini mission will begin the closest study of Saturn’s rings offering unprecedented views of that moons orbit near them.
During this phase of the mission - called Cassini’s Ring-Grazing Orbits - the probe will pass the outer edge of the rings. It can be stated that Cassini will bring closer to Saturn than any spacecraft has dared to go before.
Started in 1997, the Cassini-Huygens mission reached Saturn after 7-year journey, during which he traveled over 3.5 billion kilometers, entering into orbit the July 1, 2004.

Before the Grand Final, between November 30 and April 22, the international probe will pass high over and under the poles of Saturn and it will dive 20 times through the unexplored region of the main rings. Here, it will try to collect samples particles and gases through two particular instruments.
During the flight of the first two orbits, Cassini also will explore the range generated by the impacts of celestial bodies with two small satellites - called Janus and Epimetheus - and it will move to the most external rings structure - the F ring - watching from a distance of 7,800 kilometers.

Cassini's ring-grazing orbits will provide also an overview of small moons that orbit in or near the edges of Saturn system, focus on the moons Pandora, Atlas, Pan and Daphnis.
Gliding between the rings, the mission will carry out images with high resolution (1 kilometer per pixel), investigating small-scale features in the "A ring", looking for unseen moonlets.

Before the Grand Final, Cassini will have the opportunity to scrutinize the rings backlit by the Sun, seeking to catch clouds of dust ejected by meteor impacts.
After 20 years of career, the robotic spacecraft mission, started by a partnership among NASA, ESA and the Italian Space Agency, is about to conclude its border reportage, providing unprecedented details of the "Lord of the Rings".