Cassini Set to Ring Saturn Today

PASADENA, Calif., June 30 (AScribe Newswire) — After nearly seven years of asking, “Are we there yet?” the Cassini-Huygens mission is poised to enter Saturn’s orbit this evening.





“Getting into orbit means we have a mission. If we don’t get into orbit then we have a flyby and that’s not what we are here to do,” said Dr. Dennis Matson, project scientist for the Cassini-Huygens mission at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. “We are confident that the Cassini team will get us there.”

Although everything on the spacecraft is performing well, mission managers caution that this is not a slam-dunk by any means. There are risks as with any mission. One of those risks is the ring plane crossing. Although this area has been mapped extensively and is believed to be safe, there is still a risk of an impact to the spacecraft.





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