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Full Version: Rev 133 - Jun 11-27, 2010 - Titan T70
Unmanned Spaceflight.com > Outer Solar System > Saturn > Cassini Huygens > Cassini's ongoing mission and raw images
jasedm
A quick scan ahead reveals a sub 30,000km flyby of Pan coming up in the last gasp of the equinox mission in mid-June. This would resolve the little moon in more detail than the best Atlas views to date. Does anyone know of any plans to image Pan on this date??? It would be great to see how similar (or not!) the ring-embedded moons are.
toddbronco2
QUOTE (jasedm @ Apr 13 2010, 09:21 AM) *
A quick scan ahead reveals a sub 30,000km flyby of Pan coming up in the last gasp of the equinox mission in mid-June. This would resolve the little moon in more detail than the best Atlas views to date. Does anyone know of any plans to image Pan on this date??? It would be great to see how similar (or not!) the ring-embedded moons are.


Unfortunately no. There's a dust hazard before the closest approach so Cassini is in a protective attitude and then CAPS takes over during the hours after the closest approach to Pan.
Phil Stooke
I think there were going to be several similar approaches to Pan during the mission. Hopefully, one or more will be OK for imaging. These ring-moon interactions are very interesting.

Phil
jasedm
Thanks toddbronco2 - I hadn't reckoned with the dust-hazard situation.
This consequently looks like being an issue with the closest remaining flyby of Pan in March 2017 too - dust hazard occurs 7 minutes after closest approach, so presumably Cassini will have to already be oriented with the HGA facing in the direction of travel, well before C/A.
Hopefully some more distant images will be possible before EOM.

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