Callum Jones
Unbelievable snaps have detailed the last thing a NASA spacecraft saw before plunging into Saturn's over a decade ago.
The space experts over at NASA provide us with groundbreaking discoveries about our universe and beyond on a regular basis, with the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) perhaps being the most exciting thing going on at the space agency right now.
But NASA also has a rich history of breaking boundaries within the sphere of space, and the mission dubbed 'The Grand Finale' is a perfect example of that.
It all started in 1997, when NASA launched the Cassini–Huygens mission, which involved sending a dedicated spacecraft to orbit Saturn.
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Thanks to gravity assists from Venus, Earth and Jupiter, the spacecraft 0n known as Cassini - finally arrived at Saturn in 2004, and was able to study the gas giant.
Speaking of the mission, NASA said: "Some of the most surprising scientific findings have come from encounters with Saturn’s fascinating, dynamic moons."
"Cassini's observations of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, have given scientists a glimpse of what Earth might have been like before life evolved. They now believe Titan possesses many parallels to Earth, including lakes, rivers, channels, dunes, rain, clouds, mountains and possibly volcanoes."
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While another mission followed, it was the 'The Grand Finale' that pulled out all the stops as the spacecraft completed an impressive 22 dives between Saturn's inner-most ring and the tops of the planet's clouds in just a five-month period.
NASA added on their website: "At times, the spacecraft skirted the very inner edge of the rings; at other times, it skimmed the outer edges of the atmosphere.
"While the mission team was confident the risks were well understood, there could still have surprises. It was the kind of bold adventure that could only be undertaken at the end of the mission."
Images from the spacecraft captured Saturn's rings, Enceladus setting behind Saturn, as well as a blurry image of titan.
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Cassini was then deliberately plunged into Saturn in order to protect its moons, but that doesn't mean it didn't have the chance to capture an incredible image on its way out.
The final snap was of Saturn itself, even capturing where the spacecraft would ultimately plunge to its final destination.
Explaining that impressive final photo, NASA said: "This monochrome view is the last image taken by the imaging cameras on NASA's Cassini spacecraft.
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"It looks toward the planet's night side, lit by reflected light from the rings, and shows the location at which the spacecraft would enter the planet's atmosphere hours later."