Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology

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slide 1 - Whimsical holiday scene of snowflake Cassini orbiting Saturn.

Graphics

Seasons Greetings

Best wishes from the Cassini mission family to you and yours. More ›

slide 2 - moons and rings against dark background of space

Moons in Perspective

Two of Saturn's battered, icy companions hover here, above the ringplane. To get a sense of the three-dimensional nature of the scene, note that the wide band of visible rings is in between the two moons in this view from the Cassini spacecraft. Mimas, at left, is outside the far side of the rings. Dione is outside the rings and closest to Cassini. More ›

slide 3 - Giant Storms Cause Palpitations in Saturn's Atmospheric Heartbeat

Giant Storms Cause Palpitations in Saturn's Atmospheric Heartbeat

Although the atmospheres of the distant gas giants may appear startlingly different to Earth's, when we look closely we start to discover these familiar natural patterns. ›

slide 4 - Saturn and its majestic rings

IMAGE ADVISORY

Cassini Image Mosaic: A Farewell to Saturn

A bevy of color images was assembled to produce the mission's final end-to-end look at the planet and its rings. More ›

slide 5 - Io and Jupiter

WEEKLY IMAGE

Io Over Jupiter

Jupiter's four largest moons, including Io, the golden ornament in front of Jupiter in this Cassini image, have fascinated Earthlings ever since Galileo Galilei discovered them in 1610 in one of his first astronomical uses of the telescope. More ›

Science Team Status

ANALYZING DATA
Mission Elapsed Time

19 Yrs. | 11 Mo. | 3 Hrs. | 12 Min. | 46 Sec.
Mission: Successful

EOM: Sep. 15, 2017 | 4:55 a.m. PDT

News and Features

All you need to know about the final phase of the mission. These new orbits will take the long-lived spacecraft into unexplored space between Saturn's cloud tops and rings in an exciting, science-rich endgame.

Illustration of Cassini entering Saturn's atmosphere.

The Grand Finale Toolkit

Browse some of the greatest images taken by Cassini during its 13-year tour at Saturn.

Color enhanced image of Saturn's swirling clouds.

This colorful graphic summarizes Cassini's scientific journey at Saturn.

Infographic showing Cassini's flybys.

The Long And Winding Road

Each year the mission picked its top images and science stories.

Black and white image of small, cratered moon.

If a spacecraft kept a diary, this would be it. Week after week Cassini's team chronicled the mission highlights.

Color image of people in mission control.

Significant Events

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The Science

Cassini has revealed never-before-seen events that are changing our understanding of how planetary systems form and what conditions might lead to habitats for life.

Raw Images

Animated GIF of Saturn's rings backlit by the sun.

Fresh from Saturn: Browse the latest, unprocessed images beamed back from Saturn by the Cassini orbiter.

More Galleries

Hall of Fame

Cassini has returned thousands of great images. These are the best of the best.
Graphics

Illustrations, artwork and infographics that reveal how the Cassini mission works.
Amateur Images

We provide the data. You provide the inspiration. A look at some of the fantastic amateur artwork created with Cassini data.

The Journey

Cassini Timeline

Timeline

Dive deep into the story of the Cassini-Huygens mission to explore the Saturnian system.

The Spacecraft

Find out how the Cassini orbiter and Huygens lander work and how we use the powerful suite of science instruments with this engaging 3D model.

Behind the Scenes

Behind the Scenes

A glimpse at the men and women behind the exploring machines.