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THE PLANETARY REPORT FAREWELL, SEPTEMBER EQUINOX 2017 VOLUME 37, NUMBER 3 CASSINI Planetary.Org CELEBRATING a LEGACY of DISCOVERIES

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THE PLANETARY REPORT FAREWELL, SEPTEMBER EQUINOX 2017 VOLUME 37, NUMBER 3 CASSINI Planetary.Org CELEBRATING a LEGACY of DISCOVERIES THE PLANETARY REPORT FAREWELL, SEPTEMBER EQUINOX 2017 VOLUME 37, NUMBER 3 CASSINI planetary.org CELEBRATING A LEGACY OF DISCOVERIES ATMOSPHERIC CHANGES C DYNAMIC RINGS C COMPLICATED TITAN C ACTIVE ENCELADUS ABOUT THIS ISSUE LINDA J. SPILKER is Cassini project scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. IN 2004, Cassini, the most distant planetary seafloor. As a bonus, it has revealed jets of orbiter ever launched by humanity, arrived at water vapor and ice particles shooting out of Saturn. For 13 years, through its primary and fractures at the moon’s south pole. two extended missions, this spacecraft has These discoveries have fundamentally been making astonishing discoveries, reshap- altered many of our concepts of where life ing and changing our understanding of this may be found in our solar system. Cassini’s unique planetary system within our larger observations at Enceladus and Titan have made system of unique worlds. A few months ater exploring these ocean worlds a major focus for arrival, Cassini released Huygens, European planetary science. New insights from these dis- Space Agency’s parachuted probe built to coveries also have implications for potentially study the atmosphere and surface of Titan habitable worlds beyond our solar system. and image its surface for the very first time. In this special issue of The Planetary Report, a handful of Cassini scientists share some results from their studies of Saturn and its moons. Because there’s no way to fit every- thing into this slim volume, they’ve focused on a few highlights. Meanwhile, Cassini continues performing its Grand Finale orbits between the rings and the top of Saturn’s atmosphere, circling the planet once every 6.5 days. These unique orbits are enabling detailed gravity measurements to estimate the depth of Saturn’s winds, the size of its rocky core, and mass of the rings. Magnetic field measurements are determining Saturn’s internal rotation rate and dynamic ABOVE As Cassini plunges Among its many offerings,Cassini has magnetic field structure. These final orbits are into Saturn’s cloud tops, shown us three-dimensional structures providing the firstin situ measurements of the it will continue to return towering above Saturn’s rings, and it imaged ionosphere, innermost radiation belts, and ring data on the planet’s a giant Saturnian storm circling the planet for particle composition, as well as direct sampling atmosphere. When the spacecraft loses its radio most of 2011. of Saturn’s upper atmosphere. Some of the connection to Earth, it We now know that Titan’s hydrocarbon highest-resolution measurements of the rings will burn up like a meteor lakes and seas are dominated by liquid ethane and Saturn are occurring as the spacecraft flies in Saturn’s atmosphere. and methane, and that complex prebiotic closer to the planet and rings than ever before. chemicals form in its atmosphere and rain The Cassini mission will end on September onto its surface. On Titan, methane plays the 15, 2017 as the spacecraft plunges into Saturn’s The Cassini-Huygens role that water plays on Earth, raining from atmosphere at 122,000 kilometers (76,000 mission is a cooperative the sky, carving river channels, and filling miles) per hour. On that last day, with Cassini’s undertaking by NASA, its lakes and seas, while a subsurface ocean final heartbeat, our close, personal connec- NASA/JPL-Caltech Illustration: ESA, and the Italian space resides beneath its icy crust. tion to Saturn will be lost. However, Cassini’s agency Agenzia Spaziale Cassini’s revolutionary findings at tiny Ence- findings will continue to unfold, stoking the Italiana (ASI). ladus include a subsurface, global, salty ocean passion for discovery in the hearts of estab- containing organics, ammonia, hydrogen, lished and budding young scientists alike for and silicates, with hydrothermal vents on its many years to come. 2 THE PLANETARY REPORT C SEPTEMBER EQUINOX 2017 CONTENTS SEPTEMBER EQUINOX 2017 COVER STORY About This Issue Cassini Project Scientist Linda Spilker 2 introduces this tribute to Cassini. The Seasonal Giant 5 Leigh Fletcher takes a look at Saturn’s ever-changing atmosphere. Saturn’s Rings 9 Luke Dones reports on what Cassini has taught us. Titan’s Atmosphere 12 Sarah Hörst describes Titan’s very complex atmosphere. Titan’s Surface 15 Elizabeth Turtle shows us Cassini-Huygens’ discoveries on Titan’s surface. The Source of Saturn’s E Ring 19 Candice Hansen-Koharcheck discusses tiny, but very active, Enceladus. The Moons of Saturn 22 Emily Lakdawalla compares Saturn’s many moons. ADVOCATING FOR SPACE With Cassini Gone, Now What? Casey Dreier points out the lull in new missions to Saturn, 23 and reports on opportunities to remedy the lapse. DEPARTMENTS 4 Your Place in Space Bill Nye honors Cassini and looks ahead to LightSail 2. ON THE COVER: Cassini-Huygens first became a gleam in mission planners’ eyes in 1982, after the Voyager flybys whetted appetites for Illustration: NASA/JPL-Caltech Illustration: a closer look at the Saturn system. Now, 20 years after it launched, we say farewell and celebrate a mission that leaves a rich scientific and engineering legacy. On April 13, 2017, Cassini captured the 96 digital images that went into this Grand Finale portrait of Saturn. All components of the main ring system are visible here, illuminated from behind. Here, the more translucent rings shine brightly while the thicker, more opaque rings appear dark. Mosaic: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute/Ian Regan CONTACT US The Planetary Report (ISSN 0736-3680) is published quarterly at the Editor DONNA E. STEVENS The Planetary Society editorial offices of The Planetary Society, 60 South Los Robles Avenue, Art Director LOREN A. ROBERTS for HEARKEN CREATIVE 60 South Los Robles Avenue Pasadena, CA 91101-2016, 626-793-5100. It is available to members Copy Editors AXN ASSOCIATES & KARL STULL Pasadena, CA 91101-2016 of The Planetary Society. Annual dues are $50 (U.S. dollars) for Technical Editor JAMES D. BURKE General Calls: 626-793-5100 members in the United States, as well as in Canada and other countries. Science Editor BRUCE BETTS E-mail: [email protected] Printed in USA. Third-class postage at Pasadena, California, and at an Chief Operating Officer JENNIFER VAUGHN Internet: planetary.org additional mailing office. Canada Post Agreement Number 87424. Director of Communications ERIN GREESON Viewpoints expressed in articles and editorials are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent positions of The Planetary Society, its officers, or its advisers. © 2017 by The Planetary Society. All Rights Reserved. The Planetary Society and The Planetary Report: Registered Trademarks ® The Planetary Society. Planetfest™ The Planetary Society. YOUR PLACE IN SPACE BILL NYE is chief executive officer of The Planetary Society. It Takes Time Such Is the Nature of Exploration AS I WRITE, the Cassini spacecraft is making its last orbits around Saturn before it plunges COFOUNDERS CARL SAGAN into the planet’s atmosphere. The data that 1934–1996 come back and the scientific discoveries that BRUCE MURRAY 1931–2013 will be made as a result will comprise the LOUIS D. FRIEDMAN farewell address of this remarkable mission. Executive Director Emeritus Our spacesuit helmets are off to the men BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chairman of the Board and women who made the Cassini/Huygens DANIEL T. GERACI Cassini left Earth on Founder & co-CEO Arithmos Financial Innovations mission possible. Congratulations, and thank October 15, 1997 and took seven years to President you. This issue of The Planetary Report is dedi- JAMES BELL reach Saturn. Every Professor, School of Earth cated to the fruits of your labor. and Space Exploration, minute of those 20 Arizona State University When I reflect on the accomplishments of years in space was Vice President HEIDI HAMMEL Cassini, I often have to stop myself and recog- worth the work that Executive Vice President, Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy nize how long it took to get that mission off the went into them. Chief Executive Officer ground and into orbit. It flew for almost exactly BILL NYE Science Educator two decades and, for me, this represents the Secretary ® C. WALLACE HOOSER nature of planetary exploration and science. It topic is “LightSail and Innovations in Solar Associate Professor of Radiology, University of Texas takes time, time, time to make the discoveries Sailing.” I will discuss how essential citizen Southwestern Medical School Treasurer that amaze and humble us. involvement is for space exploration. At IAC, LON LEVIN President and CEO As a Planetary Society member, you have heads of agencies will address the global GEOshare LLC supported Cassini since its inception. You have community. Industry leaders and young pro- G. SCOTT HUBBARD Professor, Department of supported exploration for its own sake and, fessionals will share their latest plans and Aeronautics and Astronautics, Stanford University especially, the exploration of our neighboring innovations. And The Planetary Society will JOHN LOGSDON Professor Emeritus, Space Policy Institute, worlds. This focus goes back to the Society’s represent you, the people who make space The George Washington University ROBERT PICARDO original vision, a vision that lives on in the exploration possible. While there, we will meet Actor work that we do. This work is made possible the fine citizens of South Australia through BRITNEY SCHMIDT Assistant Professor by you. Thank you. the generosity of the embassy and aboriginal School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Georgia Institute of Technology And we are especially grateful to you today community members. The Society has always Davis Institute/Don Science Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space BIJAL “BEE” THAKORE Regional Coordinator for Asia Pacific, as we prepare to launch our own spacecraft, been dedicated to its global role, and we are Space Generation Advisory Council LightSail 2 (see the back cover).
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