Cassini's final hurrah

Grey Havoc

Grey Havoc

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A few quick links:

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-41222282

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-41262984

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-41259524

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/41281920

http://www.bbc.com/news/av/science-environment-41265134/cassini-saturn-death-dive-spacecraft-in-numbers


https://www.space.com/38167-cassini-spacecraft-plunges-into-saturn.html

https://www.space.com/38173-cassini-saturn-mission-farewell-editorial.html

https://www.space.com/38010-cassini-spacecraft-saturn-grand-finale.html

https://www.space.com/38158-cassini-probe-saturn-pop-culture-impact.html
 
Cassini's Grand Finale at Saturn: Oct 3, 2017 Lecture

Hubble Space Telescope
Streamed live (1 hr 28 min duration)


Space Telescope Public Lecture Series


Topic: Cassini's Grand Finale at Saturn

Speaker: Bonnie Meinke, Space Telescope Science Institute

Date: Tuesday, October 3, 2017, at 8 PM

Place: Space Telescope Science Institute Auditorium

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCo7OoPac_s
 
Just came across NASA's booklet on Pioneer II's flyby of Saturn in September 1979, the first of that planet, on Project Gutenberg.
It makes a nice comparison to just how far sensing and imaging technology has improved and how our understanding of Saturn has grown in the last 38 years.

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/55695
 
Hood said:
Just came across NASA's booklet on Pioneer II's flyby of Saturn in September 1979, the first of that planet, on Project Gutenberg.
It makes a nice comparison to just how far sensing and imaging technology has improved and how our understanding of Saturn has grown in the last 38 years.

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/55695
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Thanks for the link Hood. An interesting booklet that I have printed of and will read later.
 
Thanks, will give it a watch. I watched Cassini's final loss of signal live (as live as is possible anyway) back then. Cassini (and Hubble) set the gold standard for all future science missions to be measured against IMO.
 
Opportunistic Minnow said:
Thanks, will give it a watch. I watched Cassini's final loss of signal live (as live as is possible anyway) back then. Cassini (and Hubble) set the gold standard for all future science missions to be measured against IMO.
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I'd say Voyagers are the golden standard.
 
Anduriel said:
Opportunistic Minnow said:
Thanks, will give it a watch. I watched Cassini's final loss of signal live (as live as is possible anyway) back then. Cassini (and Hubble) set the gold standard for all future science missions to be measured against IMO.
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I'd say Voyagers are the golden standard.
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In ambition, certainly but their equipment is comparably primitive and their results really do pale next to Cassini and Juno. They are all products of their time, of course. Hopefully, one day Cassini will look quite primitive!
 
Indeed. I find Enceladus more intriguing than Europa (waaayy waay more than dust-ball Mars) as it is considerably further out. If life is found on Enceladus, it can be practically anywhere and everywhere!
 
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Enceladus and Europa are the two main what ifs concerning life in the Solar System beyond the usual suspect Mars, though I really want Enceladus to have life below its icy surface I also wonder what type of life forms they would be something weird and way beyond our current thinking about what life could be.
 
I remember footage of some anti nuke who worked up his daughter to tears when that Titan IV took to the skies. Augh!
 
publiusr said:
I remember footage of some anti nuke who worked up his daughter to tears when that Titan IV took to the skies. Augh!
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Same here pubiusr, I too remember the anti Cassini protests before the Titan IV lifted of the pad and to think that all those people were proved wrong when Cassini went past the Earth safely without incident.
 
They would really hate me. I want a Block 2 SLS with an NTR upper stage and an NEP payload.
 
FighterJock said:
I do hope that NASA are working on a successor probe to the Saturn system, Huygens left more questions about Titan than answers and of course one cannot forget about Enceladus.
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Well don’t forget the forthcoming Dragonfly drone mission to Titan.
 
FighterJock said:
Enceladus and Europa are the two main what ifs concerning life in the Solar System beyond the usual suspect Mars, though I really want Enceladus to have life below its icy surface I also wonder what type of life forms they would be something weird and way beyond our current thinking about what life could be.
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Enceladus seems to get that much less interest than Europa. My own speculation is because Saturn is that much more difficult to get to plus Titan is seen as more priority target in Saturnian system.
 
I think a cryobot might have an easier time getting down those tiger stripes than Europa’s surface. For that—you need to have a probe follow an asteroid down to make a splash. Titan should be Starship’s second home…what with seas of high test nearby :)
 

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