Space Station “Cassini” sent to Earth last image of Saturn – Dione. Mission Space Station is completed in 2017, according to NASA.
The unit flew 500 km from the moon’s surface is dotted with craters. Over 11 years in orbit of the planet that was the fifth rapprochement with Dione.
“Cassini” is conducting a series of recent works its space program before crumble in 2017, entered the atmosphere of Saturn.
“Cassini” passed another batch of Croesus. It’s very exciting to see the photographs of the surface of Dione and realize that this distant world, we will not see for a long time “, – said the head of the group visualization Carolyn Porco.
Porco rapprochement with Dione called” the beginning of a long goodbye. ”
The closest station is approaching the moons of Saturn at a distance of one hundred kilometers in December 2011.
The diameter of the satellite -1122 kilometers, compared with the diameter of the moon is 3475 km.
The surface of Dione is composed of ice and stone rocks in the inner layers.
In an atmosphere of satellite oxygen ions were discovered.
In the next year, “Cassini” will be released into a higher orbit, passing through the rings Saturn.
In 2017, when the fuel supply is exhausted, the station will be sent into the atmosphere of Saturn. While reducing the unit will overheat, melts and eventually destroyed by strong pressure.
The mission leaders decided to complete it in a similar way to the wreckage of the station were not included in the future on other moons of Saturn – Enceladus and Titan.
Scientists do not exclude the possibility of life on these moons, and they would not want to prevent the ingress of bacteria on them from the Earth, as it may sound, this fantastic version.
In the coming months, “Cassini” overflew near Enceladus.
The following year, with Jupiter will approach the space station, “Juno”, and in 2030-ies to leave the space station JUICE European Space Agency.
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