# Farewell lad, have a nice picnic under the Saturnian clouds **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 14, 2017, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-lad-have-a-nice-picnic-under-the-saturnian-clouds/796352 "2017-09-14T23:10:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2017, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-lad-have-a-nice-picnic-under-the-saturnian-clouds/796352/1 "2017-09-14T23:10:06Z")
A couple decades ago, my mother went out (probably not to Florida) to protest the launch of a space probe. She lives downstream from the impending Hanford accident[sup]\*[/sup] and has a deep, abiding aversion to nuclear power and especially to the plutonium that was going up into orbit with it, destined to make two slingshot passes of Earth on its billion+ mile journey. I made no comment at the time. We saw the pictures, some of us have perused or pored over the data and many of us have been appropriately awed (me: just odd anyway). It has been an impressive tour of one of the most interesting spots in the neighborhood. The final dive is less than half a day away. Thank you to Cassini, NASA and ESA. \*The Hanford Reservation is a fucking nightmare, apparently run by buffoons, slackers and Larry Fine: if there is not a catastrophe, or at least a major leak of waste soon, it will be a miracle. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2017, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-lad-have-a-nice-picnic-under-the-saturnian-clouds/796352/2 "2017-09-15T00:45:27Z")
WITH the plutonium pretty much depleted, right? Still, the Saturnians won’t like the pollution. 😉 I love how we “made sure” it hits the gas giant instead of a moon. Can’t be too careful. ETA, since I’m not sure it was intentional. Titan gave the bump and so on. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2017, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-lad-have-a-nice-picnic-under-the-saturnian-clouds/796352/3 "2017-09-15T01:22:21Z")
I think the RTG plutonium is probably still quite hot, since there do not appear to be notable power conservation measures in place like with the Voyagers. It is the nitrogen tetroxide/hydrazine rocket fuel for maneuvering that is running out. They will use it up braking for entry. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2017, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-lad-have-a-nice-picnic-under-the-saturnian-clouds/796352/4 "2017-09-15T01:48:07Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > It is the nitrogen tetroxide/hydrazine rocket fuel for maneuvering that is running out. They will use it up braking for entry. Oh, HELL yeah! Surprised the C-Stoff lasted this long. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2017, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-lad-have-a-nice-picnic-under-the-saturnian-clouds/796352/5 "2017-09-15T01:52:47Z")
Oh, thank God. It’s not another dead pet thread. Those always make me cry. StG ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2017, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-lad-have-a-nice-picnic-under-the-saturnian-clouds/796352/6 "2017-09-15T02:25:40Z")
Farewell Cassini, and we thank you. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2017, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-lad-have-a-nice-picnic-under-the-saturnian-clouds/796352/7 "2017-09-15T02:33:48Z")
Rest now, good and faithful robot. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2017, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-lad-have-a-nice-picnic-under-the-saturnian-clouds/796352/8 "2017-09-15T13:52:42Z")
Goodbye, Cassini. Thanks for all the [cool scientific discoveries](https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/2916/cassini-at-enceladus-a-decade-plus-of-discovery/), for the [maps of strange new worlds](https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/resources/7492/) (including their [alien seas](https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA17655)), and for all the [amazingly beautiful pictures](https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/images/largesize/PIA17172_hires.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2017, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-lad-have-a-nice-picnic-under-the-saturnian-clouds/796352/9 "2017-09-15T16:10:41Z")
And it’s not just good-bye for Cassini. It’s good-bye to the exploration of Saturn for the indefinite future, other than thru telescopes. So far as I can tell, there are no more planned probes to Saturn (other than wishful thinking). Somewhat bittersweet. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2017, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-lad-have-a-nice-picnic-under-the-saturnian-clouds/796352/10 "2017-09-15T17:26:58Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > Oh, thank God. It’s not another dead pet thread. Those always make me cry. > > StG 😃 I thought that’s what it would be too. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2017, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-lad-have-a-nice-picnic-under-the-saturnian-clouds/796352/11 "2017-09-15T17:43:03Z")
It’s true that Saturn has one hell of a Rainbow Bridge, however. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2017, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-lad-have-a-nice-picnic-under-the-saturnian-clouds/796352/12 "2017-09-15T19:52:11Z")
Today, I got my daily email from the Washington Post. For some reason, what was visible in my email overview was one headline and an excerpt from another article. It read “Cassini crashes into Saturn” “I heard a scream and then there was smoke”. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2017, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-lad-have-a-nice-picnic-under-the-saturnian-clouds/796352/13 "2017-09-15T20:36:19Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Today, I got my daily email from the Washington Post. For some reason, what was visible in my email overview was one headline and an excerpt from another article. > > It read “Cassini crashes into Saturn” “I heard a scream and then there was smoke”. It’s all fun and games until the Saturnians come after us for dirty-bombing one of their major cities. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2017, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-lad-have-a-nice-picnic-under-the-saturnian-clouds/796352/14 "2017-09-15T20:45:36Z")
The thread title says “under the clouds,” but isn’t it clouds all the way down? ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2017, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-lad-have-a-nice-picnic-under-the-saturnian-clouds/796352/15 "2017-09-15T20:51:28Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > The thread title says “under the clouds,” but isn’t it clouds all the way down? [There probably is a solid core down there](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn#Internal_structure) (not that Cassini had a snowball’s chance in hell of making it that far down). ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2017, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-lad-have-a-nice-picnic-under-the-saturnian-clouds/796352/16 "2017-09-15T23:49:19Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > **Farewell lad**. . . > [@](#): > > Many members of the Cassini team refer to the spacecraft as a “she” and they ascribe “her” human traits: curiosity, intelligence, determination, valor > [@eschereal](#): > > I think the RTG plutonium is probably still quite hot, since there do not appear to be notable power conservation measures in place like with the Voyagers. It is the nitrogen tetroxide/hydrazine rocket fuel for maneuvering that is running out. They will use it up braking for entry. > [@](#): > > That “goodbye kiss” set Cassini on its final, fatal course. Just after 3:30 a.m. California time on Friday, Cassini entered Saturn’s atmosphere, plummeting at a pace of about 77,000 miles per hour. For a few minutes, the spacecraft’s thrusters fought to keep its high-gain antenna pointed toward Earth, so it could continue to send back real-time data from this uncharted territory. [QUOTE=Earl Snake-Hips Tucker] And it’s not just good-bye for Cassini. It’s good-bye to the exploration of Saturn for the indefinite future, other than thru telescopes. So far as I can tell, there are no more planned probes to Saturn (other than wishful thinking). Somewhat bittersweet. [/QUOTE] > [@](#): > > With the loss of Cassini, the space around Saturn has gone dark. There are no missions in progress to return to the ringed planet. > > But Cassini’s revelations at Titan and Enceladus inspired NASA last year to add the moons to its call-out for proposals for the New Frontiers program — a group of medium-size missions that includes the New Horizons flyby of Pluto and the Juno orbiter around Jupiter. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/09/15/the-cassini-spacecraft-just-crashed-into-saturn/?utm\_term=.d5f4c0e66e7c](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/09/15/the-cassini-spacecraft-just-crashed-into-saturn/?utm_term=.d5f4c0e66e7c) ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2017, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-lad-have-a-nice-picnic-under-the-saturnian-clouds/796352/17 "2017-09-16T00:01:08Z")
From what I can tell, it is not actually clouds all the way down. There is believed to be perhaps two thousand miles of gaseous atmosphere below the limb (visible) surface that transitions to a superfluid and eventually forms a sort of fog-shrouded sea. The ocean is theorized to be something like 8000 miles deep, where it probably becomes metallic (semisolid) hydrogen percolating helium rain. The actual cloud layers may be a couple hundred miles deep, but I believe there is a fair distance of cloudless sky between the cloudbase and the seafog. Maybe. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2017, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-lad-have-a-nice-picnic-under-the-saturnian-clouds/796352/18 "2017-09-16T00:09:44Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > It’s true that Saturn has one hell of a **Rainbow Bridge,** however. Robin Trower has a new song title for a song about a bridge. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2017, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-lad-have-a-nice-picnic-under-the-saturnian-clouds/796352/19 "2017-09-16T15:18:02Z")
A (very) small piece of me was on that mission. I worked decades ago for a defense contractor that, among other things, built space-borne computers. Cassini Huygens asked us to build a one-off for the craft. Never did find what its purpose was; not our department, all we did was the hardware and the language (think BAL if you’re old-timey nerd enough) to run it. Anyway, an engineer and I spent about three weeks of our lives going over the CAD-designed CPU board layout checking for mistakes and optimizing the traces – CAD was still in its infancy then and the trace-routing algorithms were sub-par. One of us would have the schematic in front of us and the other the sheaf of trace sheets (one for each layer) and compare the two. We’d switch off every hour or two to keep from going blind. The guy at the schem would call out something like, I-6, pin two (I for IC) and the guy at the sheets would trace everywhere it went (I-7, pin 8; I-10, pin 2; C-25, positive leg, etc.), and the schem would have its connections ticked off. An awful lot of cool stuff is the result of an even greater amount of scut work ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2017, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-lad-have-a-nice-picnic-under-the-saturnian-clouds/796352/20 "2017-09-16T15:57:53Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > An awful lot of cool stuff is the result of an even greater amount of scut work Well, thanks for all the scut work. Y’all apparently did a real good job! (“After a year long inquiry, a NASA mishap investigation commission has determined that the $3 billion Cassini-Huygens probe failed just hours before going into orbit around Saturn–after spending nearly seven years making its way to the ringed planet–because a circuit board was improperly wired…”) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-lad-have-a-nice-picnic-under-the-saturnian-clouds/796352.md?page=2)