Cassini at Saturn

During its initial four-year tour of Saturn, Cassini completed 74 orbits of the ringed planet, 44 close flybys of the mysterious moon Titan, and numerous flybys of Saturn's other icy moons. The original mission has been followed by an extended mission, with additional orbits and flybys that allow us to learn even more about the Saturn system.

The main scientific goals include measuring Saturn's huge magnetosphere, analyzing the rings up close, and studying Saturn's composition and atmosphere.

Saturn's Magnetospheric Plasma

Cassini sends home gigabytes of data daily for analysis, and the GSFC Team focuses on data from the CAssini Plasma Spectrometer, which is shown below.