There is poetry in the fact that when the Cassini spacecraft burns up in Saturn's atmosphere on Friday, ending its mission, the bus-sized spacecraft will become a part of the planet it has admired from close range for 13 years.
But as with all things involving spaceflight, the reason for Cassini's collision course with Saturn is nothing if not practical.
Cassini is quickly running out of rocket fuel, and if left to its own devices, the orbiter would wander around the Saturn system uncontrolled, eventually crashing into whatever body that's unlucky enough to be in its way. Read more...
More about Space, Nasa, Science, Cassini, and Saturnvia Zero Tech Blog
