9 Years Ago: Cassini Plunged into Saturn’s Atmosphere
Sep 15
The Cassini spacecraft deliberately plunged into Saturn’s atmosphere on September 15, 2017.
Final Moments and Impact
Loss of Signal: The final signal from Cassini was received on Earth at 4:55 a.m. PDT (7:55 a.m. EDT) on September 15, 2017, accounting for an 83-minute light-travel delay.
Actual Disintegration: The spacecraft actually entered the upper atmosphere and disintegrated a bit earlier, around 7:31 a.m. Eastern time (4:31 a.m. Pacific time).
Reason for the Crash: NASA purposefully disposed of the Cassini spacecraft via a controlled fall to prevent any accidental biological contamination of Saturn’s potentially habitable moons, like Enceladus and Titan.
