Cassini: Successful trip through Saturn moon's mist, images soon
Washington (dpa) - The NASA space probe Cassini, which successfully made its closest pass ever by the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus, is expected to deliver images in the next 24 hours, Cassini Mission Imaging head Carolyn Porco said Thursday.
The images should begin downloading Friday morning Pacific Coast Time in the US, Porco said on Twitter.
The goal of the fly-by was to sample water vapour emanating from an ocean believed to lurk below its icy surface.
The probe flew within 49 kilometres of the moon on Wednesday, intentionally travelling through plumes of ice and water that shoot like geysers from the moon's fissured surface, indicative of hydro thermal activity underneath.
The probe has passed closer to the Enceladus previously, but never so low and directly through the water vapour plume, according to NASA.
The moon, measuring 500 kilometres in diametre, is encased in a thick layer of ice. Ten years ago the Cassini space probe discovered ice-volcano eruptions at its south pole.
Because most sunlight reflects off its surface, it is considered one of the brightest objects in the solar system.
Cassini was launched in 1997 and went into orbit around Saturn in2004. It has since been determined that Enceladus has a "global ocean" and its hydrothermal activity could mean it has the ingredients needed to support life, according to NASA.
The Cassini mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. More than 17 nations and 5,000 people have participated in the 3.2-billion-dollar project.
In December Cassini will make its third and final pass by Enceladus, before it makes its grand finale trip between Saturn and its rings.
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