First results from Cassini’s final mission phase show protons of extreme energies between the planet and its dense rings

Approximately one year ago, a spectacular dive into Saturn ended NASA’s Cassini mission—and with it a unique, 13-year research expedition to the Saturnian system. In the mission’s last five months, the probe entered uncharted territory again: Twenty-two times, it plunged into the almost unexplored region between the planet Saturn and its innermost ring, the D ring. On Friday, 5 October 2018, the journal Science is releasing six articles describing first results from this mission phase.