Cassini's grand finale
Cassini, which has been orbiting Saturn since July 2004, will perform a dramatic death dive into the gas giant's thick atmosphere on Sept. 15. This suicidal plunge will wrap up the "Grand Finale" phase of Cassini's mission: a series of 22 orbits that will take the probe between Saturn and its innermost ring. The first such close flyby will take place on April 22.
The $3.2 billion Cassini-Huygens mission, a joint effort of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency, launched in October 1997. The Cassini mothership carried a lander called Huygens, which touched down on Saturn's largest moon, Titan, in January 2005.
Cassini continued circling Saturn, studying the huge planet, its rings and many moons. Cassini has made many important discoveries over the years; for instance, the probe spotted liquid-hydrocarbon lakes on Titan and geysers of water ice blasting from the south polar region of the Saturn moon Enceladus. [Ocean on Saturn Moon Enceladus Suspected Beneath Ice (Video)]
Cassini's death plunge is designed to ensure that the spacecraft doesn't contaminate Titan or Enceladus, — both of which may be capable of supporting life — with microbes from Earth, NASA officials have said.
