After orbiting Saturn for more than 13 years, NASA's Cassini spacecraft is getting ready to say goodbye.
On Monday (Aug. 14), Cassini made the first of five passes through Saturn's upper atmosphere, kicking off the last phase of the mission's "Grand Finale." After completing those five dives, Cassini will come back around again one last time, plunging into Saturn's atmosphere on Sept. 15.
This will be a suicide maneuver: Cassini will burn up in the ringed planet's thick air, turning into a meteor in the Saturn sky. [Cassini's 'Grand Finale' at Saturn: NASA's Plan in Pictures]
Cassini will keep sending back data on Sept. 15 until it gets to an altitude where atmospheric density is about twice what it encountered during its final five passes, NASA officials said. At that point, mission controllers will lose contact with the probe because its thrusters won't be able to keep Cassini's antenna pointed toward Earth; there will simply be too much air to push against.
During these last few orbits, Cassini will come so close to Saturn — 1,010 to 1,060 miles (1,630 to 1,710 kilometers) above its cloud tops — that atmospheric drag will be a factor, and the craft will need to use its thrusters to maintain its altitude. Scientists aren't sure how dense the atmosphere is in this region.