Thanks Bruno,

that is a very interesting story...

i looked at this severall Days...

Greetings from Germany NRW
Ulli
"I am convinced that human flight is possible and practical."
-- Wilbur Wright, 1899

I think that is a great day for the science.Thank you Bruno
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Long time ago far far away ;-)

Closest Ever Images of Saturn's Moon Phoebe Captured By Cassini


"I am convinced that human flight is possible and practical."
-- Wilbur Wright, 1899

a little more Info

Seven years after launch on a four-planet gravitational bank shot covering more than 2 billion miles, NASA's $3.3 billion nuclear-powered Cassini probe - the most sophisticated robotic spacecraft ever built - has finally reached the solar system's most spectacular target: The ringed planet Saturn.


"I am convinced that human flight is possible and practical."
-- Wilbur Wright, 1899

You can also have a look here.

As well as here.

The ESA/NASA Cassini/Huygens mission (*), launched in October 1997, is currently heading for Titan, Saturn's largest moon. The ESA probe Huygens will be the first ever to land on the surface of a moon in the outer Solar System, and as it does so, the NASA Cassini orbiter will continue to explore Saturn and its rings.

On 1 July CEST (30 June Pacific Daylight Time), after a journey of almost seven years and four gravity-assist swing-by manoeuvres, the spacecraft will be inserted into its orbit around Saturn and will reach its closest approach to the planet. The Huygens probe will be detached from the mother ship on 25 December and is due to land on Titan in January next year.

The Saturn orbit insertion event can be followed at ESA's European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) at Darmstadt, Germany, on 1 July, from 05:00 to 09:00. Several project representatives will be present. The event can also be followed at ESA HQ in Paris and at ESA/ESRIN, Frascati, in Italy.

The ESA TV service will provide extensive live coverage of all international press conferences, the orbital insertion operations on the night of 30 June to 1 July, and the presentation of the first images and results at JPL. All transmission and satellite details are published online and will be continuously updated at http://television.esa.int.

The ESA live TV line transmission of the orbital insertion will also be transmitted on Astra 2C, the satellite reception details being as follows:

Astra 2C at 19 degrees East
Transponder 57, horizontal, MPEG-2, MCPC
Frequency 10832 MHz, Symbol rate 22000 MS/sec. FEC=5/6.

(*) The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperation between NASA, ESA (European Space Agency) and ASI (Italian Space Agency). The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, is managing the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington



Clear skies from Italy!

All Aboard the Cassini Tour Bus!

Clear skies from SETI Italia! [/url]

To me, the most spectacular picture is the one where you can see the indivdual blocks of ice in the ring. They must be extremly large and the speed for the rings to remain in orbit has to be extreme also.

thank bruno