Cassini Significant Events
for 02/25/09 - 03/03/09

The most recent spacecraft telemetry was acquired on Mar. 3 from the
Deep Space Network tracking complex at Madrid, Spain.  The Cassini
spacecraft is in an excellent state of health. Information on the
present position and speed of the Cassini spacecraft may be found on
the "Present Position" page at:
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/presentposition/.


Wednesday, Feb. 25 (DOY 056)

After ending a three-month run at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of
Art at Cornell University, the exhibit "Spectacular Saturn - Images
from the Cassini-Huygens Mission" opened on Feb. 2 at the Smithsonian
National Air and Space Museum in Wash. DC, and will be on display
there through July 2009. This traveling display has been made
possible with the assistance of the American Museum of Natural
History and Cornell's Herbert Johnson Museum of Art.

A new map of the dunes on Titan is now available.  Based on
high-resolution RADAR data collected over a four-year period, some
16,000 dune segments were mapped out from about 20 RADAR images,
digitized, and combined to produce the new map. From this data
scientists have determined that Titan's rippled dunes are generally
oriented east to west, indicating that surface winds blow toward the
east.  This is the opposite direction suggested by previous global
circulation models of Titan.  This information is important in that
knowledge of wind patterns is necessary for planning future Titan
explorations that might involve balloon-borne experiments.  For all
the details link to:
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/newsreleases/20090226titandunes/
>http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/newsrele
ases/20090226titandunes/

Thursday, Feb. 26 (DOY 057):

The majority of science this week focused on rings, rings, and more
rings.  Descending through the ring plane just prior to periapsis,
Imaging Science (ISS) acquired data for an 8-hour ring movie, and the
Cosmic Dust Analyzer took samples as the spacecraft passed through
this region. Throughout the week, a number of occultations were
captured as very bright ultraviolet and infrared stars passed behind
the rings. The Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) and
Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph used these opportunities to study
ring density and structure.  Towards the end of the week the
Composite Infrared Spectrometer obtained data for an 8-hour vertical
temperature map of the Cassini Division.  Additional activities
included Optical Remote Sensing instrument observations of Dione and
Rhea, and continued Magnetospheric and Plasma Science surveys.

Friday, Feb. 27 (DOY 058):

Work continued on preparations for the propulsion system to swap to
its RCS B-branch thrusters, scheduled to begin Mar. 12.  The
Integrated Test Laboratory (ITL) "dry run" to test the swap procedure
and various contingency files concluded successfully today. The ITL
end-to-end test will begin Monday, Mar. 2, and will run the entire
week.  After the conclusion of the test on Friday, the project will
hold an Uplink Readiness Review.  Actual uplink of files will then
begin on Saturday, Mar. 7.

Monday, March 2 (DOY 061):

If you go to
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/cassinifeatures/imageoftheyear08/
>http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/cassini
features/imageoftheyear08/,
you will find yourself at the Cassini Image of the Year
website.  This year, 15 images were presented for our readers to vote
on. The winner: A Tectonic Feast.  On Oct. 5, 2008, just after
closest approach at 25 kilometers, Cassini captured this mosaic of
the geologically active surface of Enceladus.

Tuesday, March 3 (DOY 062):

Cassini scientists analyzing images acquired over the course of about
600 days found a tiny moonlet, half a kilometer across, embedded
within a partial ring, or ring arc, in Saturn's tenuous G
ring.  "S/2008 S 1" has been identified as the 61st known satellite
orbiting Saturn and is likely a significant source of the small
particles found in the G ring.  For the full story link to:
http://" target="new">http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2009-035>http://
www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2009
-035

Visit the JPL Cassini home page for more information about the
Cassini Project: http://" target="new">http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/>http://
saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/>
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