Before 'Death Dive' We'll See Some Amazing Pictures

For the last twenty years, NASA's unmanned Cassini spacecraft has been taking pictures of the Saturn and sending them back to earth for scientists to study.  Saturn, perhaps the most easily recognizable planet in our Solar System, is characterized by its magnificent rings.  

In about six months, Cassini will run out of fuel and will crash into Saturn itself in what is being described as a "death dive." Scientists chose to crash the spacecraft into the planet rather than allow it to drift about in space, in order to prevent Cassini from indefinitely interfering with Saturn's atmosphere.

However, before that, NASA promises the Cassini spacecraft will take and send back the most spectacular pictures of the entire mission.  Its mini-mission is called "ring-grazing," and its already begun.  As the name suggests, the spacecraft gets closer to Saturn's outermost rings than ever before.  The pictures captured will be the most detailed ever seen.  The images will allow scientists to discover new facets of the ringed planet and its environment.  

Scientists will be paying particular attention to the various moons orbiting between Saturn's rings. 

A NASA official said in a statement, "After nearly 20 years in space, the mission is drawing near its end because the spacecraft is running low on fuel," adding, "The Cassini team carefully designed the finale to conduct an extraordinary science investigation before sending the spacecraft into Saturn to protect its potentially habitable moons."