E-8: Cassini Returns to the Tiger Stripes

+ Visit the E8 Flyby Page

On Nov. 21 Cassini will again fly by Enceladus, this time with a very different geometry, approaching within 1,606 kilometers (997.9 miles) of the surface. The closest approach will occur over 82 degrees south latitude.

The spacecraft will again be under the control of thrusters during the flyby, to allow for precise tracking of surface features during closest-approach; the Composit Infrared Spectrograph (CIRS) instrument will make a map of thermal emission from the tiger stripe Baghdad Sulcus.

This is the eighth targeted flyby of Enceladus; the flyby is sometimes referred to as “E-8.”

Credit:NASA/JPL