A very successful space probe is nearing the end of its life. This is the Cassini mission, a joint US and European effort. It left Earth in 1997, spent 7 years traveling to Saturn, and has been collecting images and data ever since.
In 2005, the Huygens lander detached from Cassini, and landed on Titan, Saturn’s largest Moon.
Study of the rings of Saturn has been a high priority for this mission. However, it has been important for Cassini not to get too close. The rings appear to be smooth bands of ribbon, but are streams of solid objects of various sizes, orbiting the planet at very high speeds. A collision with one of these particles could destroy the spacecraft.
Cassini has used up most of its fuel, and won’t be able to perform many more maneuvers. To avoid trouble in the future, the probe will purposely crash on Saturn.
The good news is that the probe is now moving into some hazardous areas. We will be able to get some images which were too risky earlier in Cassini’s mission. Cassini will venture closer to the rings, but still won’t try to enter them.
This is a summary of the Cassini mission. Here are some links to the bigger story:
https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/about-the-mission/quick-facts/
https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/spacecraft/huygens-probe/
Don’t forget to look up at Saturn!
John
Real Simple Astronomy 
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