NASA: Saturn/Cassini Mission To End -- In A Planned Gravity-Accelerated Plunge -- Relatively Soon...

While the Juno Jupiter orbiter has quite a few months left, before it too plunges into the atmosphere of its mysterious gas giant, Cassini -- at Saturn -- is now nearing the end.

[As a planetary space science backgrounder, we indeed have mentioned this before.] But just this very afternoon, NASA held a press briefing, to explain what will occur. It will be, in the grandest of traditions, a blazing send off, after over 20 years of streaking through the frigid, mostly black night of space. So -- to commemorate it, and because I heard this old Sam Cooke cut walking in, this morning, I've put together my own short tribute. 45 seconds -- see below -- as a twisty golden hued shepherded moon-lette -- is burned to a cinder, on one final plunge.

Cassini-Sam-Cooke-Death2017 from Rain on Vimeo.

Official NASA Video -- 3:40:



Now you know -- largely off the grid, until Friday night, now. So. . . be excellent to one another, until as Sam sings -- we are "dead, and buried in our graves. . ." Namaste.

नमस्ते