NASA Cassini Solstice Mission Pictures of Saturn and Moons

In this article on the NASA Cassini Solstice Mission Pictures of Saturn and Moons we give an overview of the Cassini Missions and some great pictures of Saturns moons from Cassini fly bys also links to more pictures and information!

You can click on this link to read our article on the last Space Shuttle mission. It has some good links as well.

Dramatic plumes, both large and small, spray water ice out from many locations along the famed "tiger stripes" near the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus. The tiger stripes are fissures that spray icy particles, water vapor and organic compounds.

NASA Cassini Solstice Mission Pictures of Saturn and Moons – Cassini Missions Background Information

Nasals' Cassini Spacecraft launched on October 15th, 1997. It is on its third mission since then called the Solstice Mission> all of the Missions have been successful thus far in exploring the Saturn System.

The Cassini spacecraft is big. here are some statistics on this incredible craft:

Cassini Launch Mass

• Spacecraft — 2,442 kg (5,384 lb)
• Propellant — 3,132 kg (6,905 lb)
• Total Mass — 5,574 kg (12,288 lb)

Cassini Power

• Cassini Propulsion: Two engines, 445 Newton (100 lb) thrust each
• Cassini Electrical Power Source: Three radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs)

Cassini Instruments and equipment

• Optical Remote-Sensing Instruments: Will determine temperatures, chemical
composition, structure, and chemistry of Saturn, its rings, moons, and their
atmospheres; will measure the mass and internal structure of Saturn and its
moons; will photograph Saturn, its rings, and moons in visible, near-infrared,
and ultraviolet wavelengths.
• Radar: Will map Titan and measure heights of surface features.
• Field and Particles Instruments: Will map the magnetic field of Saturn; detect
charged particles and plasmas; study interactions between solid bodies and
the solar wind; investigate ice and dust, plasma waves, and radio waves.

NASA Cassini Solstice Mission Pictures of Saturn and Moons

NASA's Cassini spacecraft captured new views of Saturn's oddly shaped moon Hyperion during its encounter with this cratered body on Thursday, Aug. 25. Raw images were acquired as the spacecraft flew past the moon at a distance of about 15,500 miles (25,000 kilometers), making this the second closest encounter.

Hyperion is a small moon — just 168 miles (270 kilometers) across. It has an irregular shape and surface appearance, and it rotates chaotically as it tumbles along in orbit. This odd rotation prevented scientists from predicting exactly what terrain the spacecraft's cameras would image during this flyby. The latest raw images of Hyperion are online at: http://Saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/photos/raw/ . edu

Saturn's moon Enceladus reflects sunlight brightly while the planet and its rings fill the background of this Cassini view.

Enceladus is one of the most reflective bodies in the solar system because it is constantly coated by fresh, white ice particles. See Occulting Enceladus and Icy Enceladus to learn more.

Cassini's best close-up view of Saturn's F ring shepherd moon, Pandora, shows that this small ring-moon is coated in fine dust-sized icy material.

Craters formed on this object by impacts appear to be covered by debris, a process that probably happens rapidly in a geologic sense. The grooves and small ridges on Pandora (84 kilometers, or 52 miles across) suggest that fractures affect the overlying smooth material.

The Cassini Spacecraft has taken many dramatic phjotos of Saturn and its rings including  these. The first is a mosaic, composed of many smaller pictures. This is natural (not color enhanced).
 

Next, The B ring presents a remarkable difference in brightness between the near and far arms (bottom and top of the image, respectively). The strong variation in brightness could be due to the presence of wake-like features in the B ring.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://www.nasa.gov/cassini and http://Saturn.jpl.nasa.gov .

OK thats it for this NASA Cassini Solstice Mission Pictures of Saturn and Moons Article

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