spacetoday.net: Cassini flies by Phoebe

Posted: Sun, Jun 13, 2004, 10:21 AM ET (1421 GMT)
Phoebe image from Cassini (NASA/JPL)

NASA's Cassini spacecraft successfully flew by the moon Phoebe on Friday, taking images of the heavily-cratered outer moon of Saturn. Cassini flew within 2,068 km of Phoebe, one of Saturn's outermost moons, at just before 5 pm EDT (2200 GMT) Friday. The spacecraft's antenna was pointed away from Earth during the flyby, so confirmation of the flyby had to wait until Saturday, when the spacecraft reoriented itself and transmitted initial data from the flyby to Earth. The first images of Phoebe returned by Cassini reveal a small moon, about 220 km in diameter, pockmarked with a variety of large and small craters. The flyby is the first of over 50 flybys of seven of Saturn's moons during the mission; this was the only flyby of Phoebe planned because of the moon's distance from Saturn. Cassini is scheduled to fire its main engine and enter orbit around Saturn on the night on June 30.