Space exploration has always been fascinating to me, both manned and unmanned. There is something about the unknown vastness of space that provokes endearing curiosity. The Cassini-Huygens project has fed that curiosity for years, but will stop doing so later this week.

The New York Times posted a great article last week detailing the impending demise of the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft, an unmanned space probe that has been pestering Saturn and its moons over the last 13 years. While the Huygens part of the craft (a probe designed to separate and land on Titan, one of Saturn’s moons) has been dead since 2005, the Cassini part of the craft has been weaving in and out of Saturn’s rings and moons collecting data, photos, and even sounds for over a decade.

So Long. Farewell

On Friday, September 15th at approximately 7:53am EDT, Cassini will descend towards Saturn where it will transmit its last messages and disintegrate into the atmosphere. The article’s video does a great job of detailing the whole project and illustrating the final descent of the elder spacecraft.

Rest in peace.

Be sure to check out the original article.