Last week, after 13 years of exploration, NASA9s Cassini spacecraft plunged into the upper reaches of Saturn9s atmosphere at 123,000 kilometers per hour and melted away. The spacecraft9s demise, necessitated by dwindling fuel and a need to protect two of Saturn9s 62 moons from potential microbial contamination from Earth, brought forth a global outpouring of sentiment. Although pathos ruled for a day, Cassini9s scientists are eager to get back to work. The spacecraft has already revolutionized understanding of gas giants and, with its discoveries of hydrogen-rich water plumes on Enceladus and methane lakes on Titan, the potential for life to exist beyond the classic "habitable zone." But its final 22 orbits could reveal insights into Saturn9s rings and murky interior.

中文翻译：

---

卡西尼号在土星的长期运行的火热结束

上周，经过13年的探索，美国宇航局9号卡西尼号飞船以每小时12.3万公里的速度坠入土星9号大气层的上游并融化。由于燃料减少以及需要保护土星 62 颗卫星中的两颗免受来自地球的潜在微生物污染，航天器的消亡引发了全球情绪的爆发。尽管悲情统治了一天，但卡西尼号的科学家们渴望重返工作岗位。该航天器已经彻底改变了对气态巨行星的理解，并且随着土卫二上富含氢的水羽流和泰坦上的甲烷湖的发现，生命存在于经典“宜居带”之外的潜力。但它的最后 22 条轨道可以揭示对土星环和黑暗内部的洞察。