NASA’s Cassini spacecraft may be retreating from Encleadus, an icy moon near the planet Saturn, but scientists shouldn’t help but feel a bittersweet “mission accomplished”. Credit: NASA ” This final Enceladus flyby elicits feelings of both sadness and triumph.
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The spacecraft passed Enceladus – the sixth-largest of Saturn’s moons – at a distance of 3,106 miles (4,999 km) on December 19, 2015, at 12:49 p.m. EST (9:49 a.m. PST, 5:49 p.m. GMT).
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During its final close flyby of Saturn’s moon Enceladus, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured this view featuring the almost parallel furrows and ridges of the feature named Samarkand Sulci.
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“Understanding how much warmth Enceladus has in its heart provides insight into its remarkable geologic activity, and that makes this last close flyby a fantastic scientific opportunity”, Linda Spilker, Cassini project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, said in a statement.
“While we’re sad to have the close flybys behind us, we’ve placed the capstone on an incredible decade of investigating one of the most intriguing bodies in the solar system”, he added. It will be probe’s final close pass, but it will continue to keep a watch on the natural satellite at a much greater distance, NASA revealed.
Ever since November 1980 and August 1981 – when Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 made their flybys of Saturn – scientists have been mesmerized by the tiny moon Enceladus.
Cassini is now headed to another of Saturn’s moons, Titan, which contains surface hydrocarbon lakes. Using this sample of water, scientists hope to discover whether the ocean on this moon can support life.
Cassini will continue to observe Enceladus during the remainder of its mission, but it will be at least four times farther away than Saturday’s close approach.
In the latest images the spacecraft shows a region of older terrain covered in craters that have been modified by geological process and a craterless province that can be seen at the sides of Saturn’s moon Enceladus, explained the NASA. Scientists are looking for ways to detect life directly on Enceladus.
In October of 2008, the space probe came within just 16 miles of the moon.
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According to a report from the Gizmodo, with the data Cassini collects tomorrow, and all the other science it’s accomplished this past year, we can expect to have a much better picture of Enceladus’ habitability prospects in the near future. With that said, it will take a bit more time before researchers can say whether conditions on the icy world are hospitable to life.
