Successful space probe’s 20-year mission to Saturn will end in fireball
SCIENTISTS are ready for the spectacular fiery grand finale of one of humanity’s most ambitious and successful space missions.
Nasa’s Cassini probe will stop orbiting Saturn and fire its thrusters to begin a suicidal dive in to the planet’s thick atmosphere on Friday.
For a brief one or two minutes before burning up, the spacecraft will sample Saturn’s ammoniarich clouds and beam back new data about their chemical composition.
Its final pictures will have been transmitted several hours earlier.
Nasa predicts that it will lose contact with the space craft at around 12.55 am.
Because Saturn is so far away, Cassini’s last-gasp signals will be received on Earth 83 minutes after the probe’s destruction.
Launched in October 1997, Cassini took seven years to reach Saturn,
Cassini above Saturn’s northern hemisphere.
carrying with it a small European Space Agency lander called Huygens.
Since its arrival, the spacecraft has delivered a wealth of information about the ringed planet and its moons.
A high point of the mission came in January 2005 when Huygens
dropped through the dense hydrocarbon atmosphere of Saturn’s largest moon Titan, and touched down on a pebblestrewn surface with the consistency of wet sand.
It was the first successful landing on a world in the outer solar system. CRAIG Revel Horwood has backed calls for same-sex couples on Strictly Come Dancing by next year.
The acid-tongued judge said that the tango was originally danced between two men.
He said: “I think samesex couples can exist!
“You only have to decide who’s going to go backwards really, that’s the only difference.”
Asked whether viewers could see same-sex couples in future, he said: “I hope so, I really hope so. In the world of competition there are same-sex couples.
“So there’s no reason why that can’t happen. The Beeb have to decide whether they want to do that one year.
“I think it will probably happen next year.
“If you consider the tango was originally