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Cassini names final mission phase its 'grand finale'

Date:
July 1, 2014
Source:
NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Summary:
With input from more than 2,000 members of the public, team members on NASA's Cassini mission to Saturn have chosen a name for the final phase of the mission: the Cassini Grand Fi-nale. Starting in late 2016, the Cassini spacecraft will begin a daring set of orbits that is, in some ways, like a whole new mission. The spacecraft will repeatedly climb high above Saturn's north pole, flying just outside its narrow F ring. Cassini will probe the water-rich plume of the active geysers on the planet's intriguing moon Enceladus, and then will hop the rings and dive between the plan-et and innermost ring 22 times.
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With input from more than 2,000 members of the public, team members on NASA's Cassini mission to Saturn have chosen a name for the final phase of the mission: the Cassini Grand Fi-nale.

Starting in late 2016, the Cassini spacecraft will begin a daring set of orbits that is, in some ways, like a whole new mission. The spacecraft will repeatedly climb high above Saturn's north pole, flying just outside its narrow F ring. Cassini will probe the water-rich plume of the active geysers on the planet's intriguing moon Enceladus, and then will hop the rings and dive between the plan-et and innermost ring 22 times.

Because the spacecraft will be in close proximity to Saturn, the team had been calling this phase "the proximal orbits," but they felt the public could help decide on a more exciting moniker. In early April, the Cassini mission invited the public to vote on a list of alternative names provided by team members or to suggest ideas of their own.

"We chose a name for this mission phase that would reflect the exciting journey ahead while acknowledging that it's a big finish for what has been a truly great show," said Earl Maize, Cassini project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

For more information about the name contest, visit: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/name

For a visualization of the Grand Finale, visit: http://eyes.nasa.gov and click on "Cassini's Tour"


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Materials provided by NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Cite This Page:

NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "Cassini names final mission phase its 'grand finale'." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 1 July 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140701093259.htm>.
NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. (2014, July 1). Cassini names final mission phase its 'grand finale'. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140701093259.htm
NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "Cassini names final mission phase its 'grand finale'." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140701093259.htm (accessed March 28, 2024).

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