15 September 2017

Cassini, 1997–2017

Beloved NASA spacecraft that lived on on the grand tradition of about two-thirds of NASA's missions: Greatly exceeded expectations and lifespan. (We try not to talk about the other third, like when we crash something on Mars because somebody didn't convert English to metric properly.) Survived by 67 moons, multiple rings, a polyhedral storm, and an awful lot of new dreams and knowledge. Here's a charming funeral announcement (if your browser will display insecure videos, that is).

It makes you wonder why we didn't start more missions as soon as Cassini showed success. Oh, yeah... we were too busy in Southwest Asia to spare a dime.