Page 1 of 1
You will cry for Cassini!
Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 10:31 am
by ttf_robcat2075
You will cry for Cassini!
Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 11:08 am
by ttf_BGuttman
They had to do something. It was out of fuel. It only ran 40 years on what it had. No way to "bring it back into the shop" for refitting. We got an immense amount of information about Saturn and its moons as well as the structure of the rings.
I will be sad to see it go, but they are planning another mission in the mid 2020's (I don't know if I'll see it). I wish we could watch the view until the last minute, though.
You will cry for Cassini!
Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 11:59 am
by ttf_robcat2075
They really need to start budgeting for a live deathcam on these things.
You will cry for Cassini!
Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 12:01 pm
by ttf_JohnL
If Cassini were a person, it would be looking back on a long, purposeful life, hopefully with a great sense of pride and accomplishment. More bittersweet than simply sad.
Maybe someone should write an opera - though I think the Mars rovers might make a better story.
The Mars Pathfinder mission would be the prologue, ending with the Sojourner rover still "alive" but cut after after its base unit died. After that, it would follow the twins Spirit and Opportunity. Spirit's story would end with the rover stuck in soft soil as its battery fades away, with the finale of the work being Opportunity driving off into the Martian sunset.
You will cry for Cassini!
Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 12:11 pm
by ttf_Ellrod
Quote from: JohnL on Sep 14, 2017, 12:01PMIf Cassini were a person, it would be looking back on a long, purposeful life, hopefully with a great sense of pride and accomplishment. More bittersweet than simply sad.
Maybe someone should write an opera - though I think the Mars rovers might make a better story.
The Mars Pathfinder mission would be the prologue, ending with the Sojourner rover still "alive" but cut after after its base unit died. After that, it would follow the twins Spirit and Opportunity. Spirit's story would end with the rover stuck in soft soil as its battery fades away, with the finale of the work being Opportunity driving off into the Martian sunset.
Throw in some cross-dressing and mistaken identity and you're on to something. Or on something.
You will cry for Cassini!
Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 2:40 pm
by ttf_robcat2075
From the set of things you didn't know were still out there...
STYX|NASA CAssini
https://www.youtube.com/v/FrhIVGbCOwM
You will cry for Cassini!
Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 2:46 pm
by ttf_Andrew Meronek
Cassini has been my favorite probe to keep tabs on. Incredible stuff.
You will cry for Cassini!
Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 4:36 pm
by ttf_robcat2075
Last Look at Enceladus. Enceladus has an ice jet spouting at the bottom
You will cry for Cassini!
Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 6:37 pm
by ttf_BGuttman
Wonder if that ice jet has any effect on Enceladus' orbit. Something for the astrophysicists to ponder until we get back there.
You will cry for Cassini!
Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 6:46 pm
by ttf_robcat2075
Enceladus has a jet pack and we're still waiting for ours.
You will cry for Cassini!
Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 6:47 pm
by ttf_robcat2075
Fun fact: the spelling correction suggestion for "Enceladus" is "Enchiladas".
You will cry for Cassini!
Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 6:49 pm
by ttf_BGuttman
Quote from: robcat2075 on Sep 14, 2017, 06:47PMFun fact: the spelling correction suggestion for "Enceladus" is "Enchiladas".
Tada!! A taco stand on every corner!
You will cry for Cassini!
Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 8:59 pm
by ttf_Posaunus
You will cry for Cassini!
Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2017 6:25 am
by ttf_robcat2075
I got up just in time to see the end. They had a display showing two radio signals, X band and S band, each with a spike in the middle.
First one went flat, and then the other. End of Mission.
You will cry for Cassini!
Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2017 3:32 pm
by ttf_Posaunus
Quote from: robcat2075 on Sep 15, 2017, 06:25AMEnd of Mission.
But apparently sufficient data remaining to be analyzed for the next several years!
Way to go JPL!
You will cry for Cassini!
Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2017 6:22 pm
by ttf_robcat2075
Fun facts...
-Cassini was the first deep space probe with an SSD. 4 Gbits or about half a gigabyte. Pretty good for a mid 90s build. My SSD today is only 256Mbytes. Prior probes, including the still-functional Voyagers,
used tape drives to store data until it could be downloaded to Earth.
-More than half
its original 12,288 lb weight was 6890 lbs of propellant. But they made that last 20 years.
-The bit rate during the last phase of the mission was
27kbps or about what dial-up internet from AOL was when it was launched.
-After it was launched, someone figured out that it hadn't been designed right to relay data from the Huygens probe it was going to drop on Titan.
They managed to compensate by changing the flight path and drop off point. I hope someone got an employee of the month award for that save!
You will cry for Cassini!
Posted: Sat Sep 16, 2017 7:50 am
by ttf_Andrew Meronek
The last photo:
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap170916.html
I'm sure there are a whole bunch of others on APOD.
You will cry for Cassini!
Posted: Sat Sep 16, 2017 7:50 am
by ttf_Andrew Meronek
The last photo:
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap170916.html
I'm sure there are a whole bunch of others on APOD.