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Cassini set for second dive between Saturn and its rings
Cassini is set for its second dive through the narrow gap between the planet Saturn and its rings on Tuesday at 3.38 p.m. EDT, NASA said.
​Washington: Cassini is set for its second dive through the narrow gap between the planet Saturn and its rings on Tuesday at 3.38 p.m. EDT, NASA said.
During its orbit, in advance of the crossing, Cassini's cameras have been looking closely at the rings. As with the first Grand Finale dive, Cassini would be out of contact during closest approach to Saturn, and was scheduled to transmit data from this dive on May 3, the US space agency said in a statement.
Cassini made its first dive through the region on April 26 and discovered that the region appears to be relatively dust-free.
With this information in hand, the Cassini team would now move forward with its preferred plan of science observations.
"The region between the rings and Saturn is 'the big empty,' apparently," said Cassini Project Manager Earl Maize of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
"Cassini will stay the course, while the scientists work on the mystery of why the dust level is much lower than expected," Maize said.
A dustier environment in the gap might have meant the spacecraft's saucer-shaped main antenna would be needed as a shield during most future dives through the ring plane.
