PASADENA, Calif. — NASA scientists just received their last message from the Cassini spacecraft, which plunged into Saturn early Sept. 15 morning. Those final bits of data signal the end of one of the most successful planetary science missions in history.
Washington Post: NASA’s Cassini completes fiery plunge into Saturn, ending a successful 20-year mission
Cassini science team members Nora Alonge (R), Scott Edgington (C) and Jo Pitesky (L) hug as the final loss of signal from the Cassini spacecraft is confirmed, indicating Cassini's destruction in Saturn's atmosphere and the end of Cassini's 20-year mission to gain a better understanding of the ringed planet and its icy moons, at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California on Sept. 15. Within moments of loss of signal the spacecraft will plunge into Saturn's atmosphere where it will burn up and disappear in what NASA is calling The Grand Finale.
