20 year Saturn space mission ends for Cassini

Icy moon Enceladus, which has hydrothermal vents

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Cassini, which launched in 1997 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and arrived at Saturn in 2004, has ended its 20-year mission.

Traveling 746 million miles, Cassini arrived to Saturn in 2004. Initially, Cassini was meant to have a lifespan of only 11 years, but its mission was extended twice to have it photograph Saturn’s frozen moons.

Gallery (click to enlarge)

Structures rising from the edge of Saturn's B ring — Structures rising from the edge of Saturn’s B ring

Shadows at the bottom middle from Saturn's own rings — Shadows at the bottom middle from Saturn’s own rings

Shots from the Huygens probe as it parachuted into moon Titan's atmosphere — Shots from the Huygens probe as it parachuted into moon Titan’s atmosphere

Five of Saturn's moons in a single shot. Janus, Pandora, Enceladus, Reah, and Mimas — Five of Saturn’s moons in a single shot. Janus, Pandora, Enceladus, Reah, and Mimas

Another shot of earth, with Saturn's awesome rings in the foreground — Another shot of earth, with Saturn’s awesome rings in the foreground

Moon Enceladus along the plane of Saturn's rings — Moon Enceladus along the plane of Saturn’s rings

A closeup shot of Saturn's B ring — A closeup shot of Saturn’s B ring

Saturn in Spring Equinox

Glorious Saturn

A huge storm in Saturn's Northern hemisphere — A huge storm in Saturn’s Northern hemisphere

Icy moon Enceladus, which has hydrothermal vents

A ripple in Saturn's rings caused by moon Prometheus — A ripple in Saturn’s rings caused by moon Prometheus

Overlapped rings, with moon Mimas in the distance

Brilliant shot of moon Lapetus

Radar image of a liquid methane lake on moon Titan

Earth, as seen through a gap in Saturn's rings — Earth, as seen through a gap in Saturn’s rings

An aurora floating above a polar storm on Saturn's north pole — An aurora floating above a polar storm on Saturn’s north pole

Huge storm at Saturn's north pole — Huge storm at Saturn’s north pole

A rainbow, which was result of how the image was taken and processed

360 sunset, with moon Janus on the left

Indeed, it is Cassini’s imaging of the oceans on these icy moons which changed many Scientists’ views of where to search for life beyond Earth.

Spilker, Cassini project scientist said, “Cassini may be gone, but its scientific bounty will keep us occupied for many years. We’ve only scratched the surface of what we can learn from the mountain of data it has sent back over its lifetime.”

Cassini ended itself in a dramatic finish by plunging into a blaze of glory in the atmosphere of Saturn.

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