About NASA

The Cassini End of Mission NASA was a historic event that marked the end of a nearly two-decade-long mission of exploration and discovery of Saturn and its moons. The Cassini spacecraft, which was launched in 1997 and arrived at Saturn in 2004, performed many scientific and engineering feats, such as delivering the Huygens probe to Titan, flying through the plumes of Enceladus, and diving between Saturn and its rings. The mission revealed many secrets and surprises about the ringed planet and its diverse satellites, some of which may harbor life. The mission ended on September 15, 2017, when Cassini deliberately plunged into Saturn’s atmosphere, sending back data until it was destroyed by the intense heat and pressure. This was done to prevent the spacecraft from crashing into and contaminating any of the potentially habitable moons of Saturn. Cassini’s final moments were captured by the Deep Space Network and relayed to Earth, where scientists and engineers celebrated and mourned the loss of the spacecraft. Cassini’s legacy, however, lives on in the vast amount of data and images it collected, which will continue to inspire and inform future generations of explorers.

The Artemis II mission is NASA's ambitious plan to send four astronauts around the Moon for the first time since the Apollo era. The mission will test the performance and safety of the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which are designed to carry humans to deep space destinations. The mission will also demonstrate the capabilities of the laser communication system, which will enable faster and higher-quality data transmission from space. The mission is expected to launch in 2024 and will last for about 10 days. The mission is part of the Artemis program, which aims to land the first woman and the first person of colour on the lunar surface, as well as establish a sustainable presence and partnership on the Moon. For more information, you can visit the official website of the Artemis II mission¹ or read the Artemis II map². You can also learn more about the history, crew, and objectives of the mission from other sources. Source: Conversation with Bing, 11/4/2023 (1) Artemis II - NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/. (2) Artemis II Map - NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis/artemis-ii-map/. (3) Artemis 2 - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_2. (4) Artemis II: NASA will reveal which four astronauts have been ... - CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/02/world/artemis-2-nasa-crew-announcement-preview-scn/index.html. (5) NASA laser communications terminal delivered for Artemis II moon mission. https://www.ll.mit.edu/news/nasa-laser-communications-terminal-delivered-artemis-ii-moon-mission.