What are saturns rings made of?
Rings. Saturn’s rings are thought to be pieces of comets, asteroids, or shattered moons that broke up before they reached the planet, torn apart by Saturn’s powerful gravity. They are made of billions of small chunks of ice and rock coated with other materials such as dust.
How long did it take Cassini to reach Saturn?
Pioneer 11 and the Voyager probes took the direct route, reaching Saturn in three years, but Cassini took seven. That is because it was too heavy to send express. The launch system lacked the power to heave six tonnes all the way to the outer solar system.
Is Cassini still active?
Cassini Spacecraft Ends Its Historic Exploration of Saturn NASA’s Cassini spacecraft made its final approach to Saturn and dove into the planet’s atmosphere on Friday, Sept. 15, 2017. Loss of contact with the Cassini spacecraft took place on Sept.
Who was the director of NASA in 1969?
Thomas Otten Paine
Thomas Otten Paine (November 9, 1921 – May 4, 1992), was an American engineer, scientist and advocate of space exploration, and was the third Administrator of NASA, serving from March 21, 1969, to September 15, 1970.
What is inside Saturn?
Saturn’s interior is most likely composed of a core of iron–nickel and rock (silicon and oxygen compounds). Its core is surrounded by a deep layer of metallic hydrogen, an intermediate layer of liquid hydrogen and liquid helium, and finally, a gaseous outer layer.
Who invented the Saturn V rocket?
scientist Wernher von Braun
Rocket scientist Wernher von Braun [pronounced Vairn-er fon Brown] is hailed as the Founder of American Rocketry and the designer of the Saturn V launch vehicles.
Who was the first human in space April 12 1961?
Yuri Gagarin
Most of the cosmonaut candidates were between 25 and 30 years old and thus did not have the extensive test pilot experience of their U.S. counterparts. One of these 20 young men, Yuri Gagarin, became the first human in space with his April 12, 1961, one-orbit flight. Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin, 1961.