Ralph Lorenz

The book does a pretty good job of detailing how Titan changed from a dot in the telescope to an actual world, with good descriptions of the mission, at least as it related to Titan. Some of the science was either over my head or geological minutia of less interest to the layman. The biggest issue I had with the book is the same one I have with all these books about missions to Mars, Saturn, Jupiter and elsewhere--they describe the beginning of the exploration, but the end is off in the distance. The mission to Saturn with an eye towards Titan is a beginning, but further study will take years, possibly decades. Thus the books are more of a prelude than anything remotely conclusive. Also they go out of date quickly--though the Kindle version of this one contains an afterward from the later paperback edition. There's a section at the end full of websites you can visit that is very helpful.… (mais)

Money is simply our current (rather poor) way of allocating resources. The resources used for a mission like Cassini would have very little impact on any of the things you mentioned. But as with all scientific research, the potential benefits in the future are unknown but potentially huge. The time spent dicking about with (then) pointless concepts like quantum mechanics in the early 20th century laid the foundations for our modern world - without it the transistor would not have been invented. Scientific endeavours like this or like CERN have the potential to pay off beyond anyone's wildest dreams.

All the arguments and discussions about the Lawsuit and Nuclear materials onboard of NASA’s flagship-class" unmanned robotic spacecraft Cassini at the present time is useless and was a waste of time. Many more unmanned robotic spacecraft would be sent to other Planets in our Solar System and also in the ‘outer-space’ to known Stars in major Galaxies in the Universe. All of these spacecraft will carry nuclear fuel (has to have it as there is no alternate source of fuel energy available or envisioned, yet) as was the case with Cassini and other spacecraft before that.

These long-planned and far-fetched experiments would provide NASA and other Space Agencies and Astronomers around the globe very useful information to develop the fundamental knowledge up-close, and ability to photograph, analysis data and determine the Planetary systems and Stars’s evolution, their chemical and physical make up, etc.

The meticulous data analysis helped scientist to hypothesize any possibility of survival of life on Saturn’s Moon ‘Titan’ or other planets anywhere in the universe, as we know on earth, and perfecting aerospace materials technology and expertise which would help earth-lingers for the eventual expedition to such Planets in our Solar system and beyond.

Cassini performed its last “Swan Song” on Friday, September 15, 2017 at Earth Time after little over 13 years orbiting around Planet Saturn and its Rings and Moons. Cassini–Huygens (aka Cassini) was launched on October 15, 1997 from the NASA’s launch-pad located at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 40.

In the future well-planned and far-fetched explorations would provide NASA, other Space Agencies and Astronomers around the globe very useful information to develop the fundamental knowledge up-close, and ability to photograph, analysis data and determine the Planetary systems and Stars’s chemical and physical make up, etc.

The meticulous data analysis received from Cassini would help scientist to hypothesize any possibility of “survival of life” on Saturn’s active Moon ‘Enceladus’ or other Planets anywhere in the universe, as we know on earth, and perfecting aerospace materials technology and expertise which would help earth-lingers for the eventual expedition to such Planets in our Solar system and beyond.

It was sad to watch Cassini last Swan Song and dive in to oblivion, but then again, as our life has taught us that nothing is permanent when it comes to human body, and importantly, when things are man-made.

Every good thing must come to its end, so that new things get birth.

Cassini in its death drive provides us for the last time some very valuable information about Saturn’s inner rings and upper atmospheres before disintegrating.

I saved enough sufficient time back then to watch NASA’s broadcast of Cassini’s Grand Finale at NASAJPL YouTube URL: http://youtube.com/nasajpl/. A dying Cassini perspective was a quite special opportunity to have a nostalgic cosmic moment for a time before the Anthropocene…… (mais)