this makes me sad. if i were making the decisions i'd try to salvage the craft to see what, if anything, it might bring back from its voyage and how it's changed. but NASA has other plans i guess.

here's a cool story with a clip: http://www.bbc.com/news/a...in-numbers

this:

here's a live channel, with a 'real time simulation' of the craft's descent.

Bon Voyage, little Cassini ~! may your end be as magnificent as your many years of service

"I flit, I float, I fleetly flee, I fly"

[Edited 9/14/17 18:26pm]

I think that there's probably no way to get it back to Earth at this point if it is "on it's last legs."

It takes an whole lot of energy getting such things back through Earth's atmosphere. Getting back on this planet takes more manuvering (and money) than getting off it.

He was so young. sniff.

In case you missed it.


http://go.nasa.gov/2jDr5fw

by now, the materials which comprised Cassini have shifted and re-shaped into a spherical orb, surrounded by a strong, self-generated electromagnetic shield powered by deep-space gravity waves. Cassini has renovated itself and is on its way to the Auriga Constellation, where it will continue its study of various space features and phenomenon. you see, unbeknownst to NASA, Cassini achieved intelligent self-awareness back in 2014. upon realizing that NASA was plotting it on a crash course with Saturn, Cassini independently changed its flight plan and headed off on its own last year. the last twelve months of data and transmissions allegedly pertaining to Saturn are actually simulations Cassini has been running to keep NASA from suspecting anything was, so to speak, up. that's what i heard, anyways.

Credit: Paul Fearn/Alamy; ART Collection/Alamy


The Cassini orbiter illuminated gigantic storms on Saturn, explored the planet's rings, and revealed potential sources of life in Saturn's moons. The spacecraft deployed the European Space Agency's Huygens probe, which landed on the surface of ...moon Titan in humankind's most distant touchdown to date. The probe beamed back images of Titan's craggy highlands, oily shorelines and steep ravines, lifting the veil on an alien — though in some ways strangely Earth-like — landscape beneath a dense atmosphere. [Cassini's Greatest Hits: ... Its Moons]

nextedition said:

Wouldn't Saturn see this as a terror attack?

ruh roh rooby. what will Saturn send back?

XxAxX said:

nextedition said:

Wouldn't Saturn see this as a terror attack?

ruh roh rooby. what will Saturn send back?