In Photos: Cassini Mission Ends with Epic Dive into Saturn

This infrared-light image, made from data obtained by the visual and infrared mapping spectrometer aboard NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, shows where the probe entered Saturn’s atmosphere on Sept. 15, 2017. Cassini captured the image a day earlier, when it was about 394,000 miles (634,000 kilometers) from Saturn.

This is the last image taken by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft before it dove into Saturn’s atmosphere. It shows the location where the spacecraft would enter the planet’s atmosphere hours later. Cassini took the photo on Sept. 14, 2017 at 12:59 p.m. PDT (3:59 p.m. EDT; 19:59 GMT).

This monochrome photo — taken on Sept. 14, 2017, at a distance of about 394,000 miles (634,000 kilometers) from Saturn — is the last picture ever snapped by Cassini’s imaging cameras. It shows the spot where, a day later, the spacecraft plunged into Saturn’s atmosphere.

Enceladus sets behind Saturn in this view from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft on Sept. 13, 2017.

In the mission control center at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Cassini team members monitor the spacecraft’s status with the Deep Space Network on Sept. 14, 2017, one day ahead of the mission’s end.

Members of the Cassini team and other NASA employees watch the final minutes of the Cassini mission, next to a full-scale model of the spacecraft.

This animation shows Cassini’s final “grand finale” orbits, followed by a distant flyby of Titan that pushed the spacecraft into Saturn (final half orbit, in orange).

Cassini took this photo of Saturn on Sept. 14, 2017 at 12:37 p.m. PDT (3:37 p.m. EDT; 1937 GMT), a little over 16 hours before it entered Saturn’s atmosphere.

A monitor shows the status of NASA’s Deep Space Network as it receives data from the Cassini spacecraft, Friday, Sept. 15, 2017 in the Charles Elachi Mission Control Center in the Space Flight Operation Center at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

Cassini’s last photos show the location where the spacecraft would plummet into Saturn’s atmosphere. Cassini took this photo of Saturn on Sept. 14, 2017 at 12:46 p.m. PDT (3:45 p.m. EDT; 1946 GMT).

Cassini took this photo of Saturn on Sept. 14, 2017 at 12:54 p.m. PDT (3:54 p.m. EDT; 1954 GMT).

Watch the signal from Cassini drop in this view of the Deep Sky Network’s monitors during the mission’s grand finale.

The Cassini team cheers, hugs and cries after receiving the final signal from Cassini that indicated the mission had come to an end with the spacecraft’s disintegration in Saturn’s atmosphere.

This photo of Saturn’s huge moon Titan was captured by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft on Sept. 13, 2017.

This unprocessed image of Saturn is among the final photos taken by the Cassini spacecraft as it headed in for its Grand Finale dive.

Cassini took this photo of Saturn and its rings on Sept. 14, 2017.

Cassini took this photo of Saturn’s outer F ring on Sept. 14, 2017.

This image of Saturn and its rings was taken on Sept. 13, 2017 at 7:32 a.m. PDT (1032 a.m. EDT; 1432 GMT).

Cassini imaged Saturn’s geyser-blasting moon Enceladus on Sept. 13, 2017.

This view of Saturn’s moon Enceladus was captured on Sept. 13, 2017 at 8:40 a.m. PDT (11:40 EDT; 1540 GMT).

Cassini captured this view of Saturn’s rings on Sept. 13, 2017.

Another image of Saturn’s rings taken by Cassini on Sept. 13, 2017.

A color version of Cassini’s final visible-light photo, created using images taken with red, green and blue spectral filters.