spacetoday.net: Cassini to make close pass of Enceladus

Cassini to make close pass of Enceladus

Posted: Wed, Mar 12, 2008, 6:34 AM ET (1034 GMT)
Cassini flyby of Enceladus illustration (NASA)

NASA's Cassini spacecraft will pass within 50 kilometers of the surface of the Saturnian moon Enceladus on Wednesday on a flyby that scientists hope will revolutionize their knowledge of the moon. On Cassini's closest approach to Enceladus, the spacecraft will be only 50 kilometers from the surface of the 500-kilometer-diameter moon. The spacecraft will be about 200 kilometers above the surface when it flies above geysers of water ice previously observed on Enceladus. The close flyby poses no risk to the spacecraft, mission official said, even when taking into account the particles of ice and dust ejected from the moon by its geysers. Scientists hope the close approach will help them understand the composition of the geysers.