Posted: Sat, Feb 28, 2004, 2:21 PM ET (1921 GMT)

NASA's Cassini spacecraft has sent back its best image to date of the planet Saturn, around which the spacecraft will enter orbit later this year. NASA released the image on Friday; the image was taken on February 9 when the spacecraft was 69.4 million kilometers from the planet, providing a resolution of 540 kilometers per pixel. Cassini is scheduled to arrive at and enter orbit around Saturn on July 1 to begin a study of the planet and its moons scheduled to last at least four years.