Cassini To Celebrate 10 Years Exploring Saturn

By  //  June 26, 2014

CASSINI WILL CELEBRATE 10 YEARS JUNE 30

ABOVE VIDEO: What incredible things will the Cassini spacecraft at Saturn see and do over the next few years? Here’s a preview.

Next Monday, June 30, Cassini will celebrate 10 years exploring Saturn, its rings and moons.

Arguably the most photogenic planet in the solar system, Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun and the second largest planet after Jupiter and with its luminous striped surface and stunning ring system, the planet is a wonder to view, especially from orbit, as NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has demonstrated since arriving at the Saturn system in 2004.

To help mark its 10th anniversary of exploring Saturn, its moons and rings, NASA's Cassini mission invites the public to transform images from the spacecraft for posting on an amateur image page. (NASA.gov image)
To help mark its 10th anniversary of exploring Saturn, its moons and rings, NASA’s Cassini mission invites the public to transform images from the spacecraft for posting on an amateur image page. (NASA.gov image)

Over the years, the Cassini mission website has been sharing raw, unprocessed versions of images sent to Earth by the spacecraft.

To help mark 10 years in orbit, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., has created a special gallery on the Saturn website where members of the public can experience “15 minutes of frame” by submitting their own amateur images made up from image data brought back by Cassini.

GUIDLINES FOR POSTING CAN BE FOUND HERE 

The Cassini spacecraft was launched from Kennedy Space Center in 1997 and has been sending back images of the Saturn system since its arrival there in 2004.  (Artists depiction courtesy of NASA/JPL)
The Cassini spacecraft was launched from Kennedy Space Center in 1997 and has been sending back images of the Saturn system since its arrival there in 2004. (Artists depiction courtesy of NASA/JPL)

With more than a half-dozen images and GIFs already live on the page, users are invited to visit Cassini’s raw image database, dig through the treasure trove and create their own digital masterpiece and suggested caption.

The submission process is as simple as filling out a form and uploading the image. Guidelines and further information can be found on the Cassini website.

Now that Cassini has completed its first decade of observations, mission planners are looking forward to the next phase, when the spacecrafts’s instruments will return additional data and images.

The mission will probe the densest part of the geysers spewing from Enceladus, and dive between Saturn and its innermost ring.