Reuters –National Aeronautics and Space Administration scientists gathered on Tuesday (April 4) to help usher in the final chapter of the spacecraft Cassini before it begins its “grand finale” on April 26 when it will descend to Saturn.
The spacecraft, in orbit around Saturn since 2004, will make a series of dives through the 1,500-mile-wide (2,400-kilometer) gap between Saturn and its rings before crashing into the the solar system’s second largest planet.
It will be the first time a spacecraft will orbit so closely to Saturn which NASA hopes will give further insights into the planet’s internal structure and origin of the rings.