The Cassini probe will become the first spacecraft to get a detailed look at summer in Saturn鈥檚 northern hemisphere, now that NASA has extended its mission until 2017.
Cassini arrived at Saturn in 2004, shortly after the height of winter in the northern hemisphere. But since the Ringed Planet鈥檚 year lasts 29 Earth years, it has never been able to witness the hemisphere鈥檚 more temperate months.
Now its current mission, which was set to end in September 2010, will be extended for a further seven years, taking it a few months past the northern summer solstice. The announcement comes after the White House revealed its proposed 2011 budget for the agency, which provides $60 million per year for Cassini鈥檚 extended mission.
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鈥淭he extension presents a unique opportunity to follow seasonal changes of an outer planet system all the way from its winter to its summer,鈥� Bob Pappalardo, Cassini project scientist at NASA鈥檚 Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said in a statement. 鈥淪ome of Cassini鈥檚 most exciting discoveries still lie ahead.鈥�
During the so-called 鈥渟olstice鈥� mission, the spacecraft is set to make 155 orbits of Saturn, 54 flybys of its moon Titan and 11 passes of the geyser-spewing moon Enceladus.
The unprecedented observations over a range of seasons will allow researchers to study how the weather changes on Saturn and its moons. For example, researchers will be testing whether hydrocarbon lakes on Titan are seasonal, filling with methane rain in the winter, then evaporating in the summer.
