#Pensacon instruments of destruction plus

All of the probe's magnetosphere and plasma science instruments, plus the spacecraft's radio science system, and its infrared and ultraviolet spectrometers collected data during the final plunge. Scientific data was collected using eight of its twelve science instruments. This was far cheaper than building two new probes in separate Discovery-class missions. government in late 2014 approved the Grand Finale at the cost of $200 million. The two phases of the Grand Finale ended up being the equivalent of having two separate Discovery Program-class missions in that the Grand Finale was completely different from the main Cassini regular mission.

There was budgetary drama in 2013-14 about NASA receiving U.S. This was followed by a dive into Saturn's atmosphere. This would be immediately preceded by a gradual shift in inclination to better view Saturn's polar hexagon, and a flyby of Enceladus to more closely study its cryovolcanism. On July 4, 2014, the Cassini science team announced that the proximal orbits of the probe would be named the 'Grand Finale'. Last image taken by Cassini, at 19:59 UTC (14 September 2017). Solar wind data very rare passages through magnetotail Many months between last encounter and final orbit Limited Saturn / magnetospheric science, but for long period of timeĨ+ years + open-ended time in stable orbit Specific orientation and orbit period requiredġ3–24 months + open-ended time in stable orbitĢ00 days between last encounter and final orbit Multi-year lifetime and funding seems better spent in target-rich Saturnian environment Last encounter goes to escape must maintain Inclination required + specific departure datesġ.4–2.4 years to escape + long transfer time:ĩ–18 months to escape, open-ended Solar orbit With no science could be applied elsewhereīut difficult to prove spacecraft destruction Specific orientation and inclination requiredĤ–22 months to set up long period orbit +ģ years between last encounter and impact Short time between last encounter and impactĭ-ring option satisfies unachieved AO goals Cassini end of mission options with science evaluation circa 2008 Type This table is based on page 19 of Cassini Extended Missions (NASA), from 2008. Another possibility was aerobraking into orbit around Titan. Each plan required certain amounts of time and changes in velocity.

Other options included leaving it in certain stable orbits around Saturn, or departure to a heliocentric orbit. Some of the options examined included collision with Saturn atmosphere, an icy satellite, or rings another was departure from Saturn orbit to Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, or a centaur. During planning for its extended missions, various future plans for Cassini were evaluated on the basis of scientific value, cost, and time.

Pensacon instruments of destruction