| Session Details | |
| Section | PS - Planetary Sciences |
| Session Title | Cassini's Grand Finale: Science Highlights and Discoveries |
| Main Convener | Dr. Scott Edgington (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, United States) |
| Co-convener(s) | Prof. Sushil Atreya (University of Michigan, United States) Dr. Athena Coustenis (Paris Observatory, France) Dr. Wing-Huen Ip (National Central University, Taiwan) |
| Session Description | The Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn ended in a dramatic plunge into Saturn’s atmosphere on September 15, 2017 sending back in-situ data as long as possible. The final year of the mission included 20 Ring-Grazing orbits just outside the rings and a series of 22 highly inclined “Grand Finale” orbits with closest approach between the innermost D ring and Saturn’s upper atmosphere. The final 22 orbits enabled the opportunity for unique science observations including: probing of gravitational and magnetic field moments to higher order and precision; determining the ring mass; in-situ sampling of the plasma environment, upper atmosphere and exosphere; and imaging both Saturn and rings at high resolution. Already data obtained on these orbits have led to surprising initial results. We propose a multi-disciplinary session to report on analysis and modeling of data collected during this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to explore Saturn up close and personal. |