NASA Mission Control Live: Cassinis Finale at Saturn

[LongTomH]

[byronius]

1. Big, big moment in human history.

[Plucketeer]

2. Amazing stuff! Sadly tho

we seem bent on throwing TRILLIONS of dollars (and other currencies) at covering this planet with weapons - or maybe even the after-effects of these weapons. SO MUCH money that could be spent exploring "out there" and even down here. And we're supposed to be the "smartest" animal.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

3. I hate it when they burn them up

I wish they had flung it out from Saturn on the chance it survived long-enough for an encounter with Uranus or Neptune but even if not just to serve as monuments to our civilization that will persist long after the fundamentalists return us to to the dark ages.

[longship]

5. Without fuel, it could not align with Earth to transmit.

And eventually the RTG power would diminish and it would go dark. Meanwhile a rogue probe is not a good idea when it is full of Earth bacteria and one does not know where it will eventually land.

The Cassini team considered sending it to Uranus or Neptune, but there was insufficient fuel to make the maneuver.

The best idea is to just crash it into Saturn.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

6. I'm not pretending to be rational about it, I just get attached

My mother worked for a bunch of different aerospace contractors when I was a kid, the way she spoke about the probes was so loving I felt like they were family members.

They didn't do it because they would have had to trade-off the funded and staffed extended mission at Saturn for the mere possibility of a fruitful encounter with Uranus or Neptune in the distant future at which time Cassini might have failed, key science team members might be dead and or there might insufficient funding to assemble any science team.

Escape to Jupiter was apparently very doable but considered unnecessary.

[longship]

9. Without fuel with which to navigate, impossible.

That was the expendable that was deciding. Once the probe cannot keep its lock on Earth, it becomes rogue. Planetary Protection folks would not allow that.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

10. They used the fuel at Saturn for the twice extended mission

I understand the decision, we aren't disagreeing here.

[longship]

11. No prob, my friend. Just making sure everybody else understands.

My best to you.

[Botany]

4. And now Trump has put a person who doesn't believe in Science as head of NASA?

[turbinetree]

7. Good bye Friend............................and Thanks for the memories 20 years worth

[Equinox Moon]

8. Thanks for the post!

I plan on watching this tomorrow. Really great and amazing! I guess this project has had international recognition and involvement.
I wish M$M and and cable media would expand their reporting - beyond trump and disasters. There is so much more happening in the world!

Good work NASA!!!