NASA’s Cassini flies inside Saturn’s rings and sends back images

NASA‘s Saturn-orbiting Cassini spacecraft phoned home on Thursday after surviving its first daring plunge inside the planet’s rings, the U.S. space agency said.

The robotic probe, which has been exploring Saturn for 13 years, shot through the narrow, unexplored gap between the planet and its innermost ring on Wednesday.

During its first pass inside the rings, Cassini came within about 1,900 miles (3,000 km) from the top of Saturn’s clouds and within 200 miles (300 km) of its innermost ring.

Cassini will attempt 21 more close encounters to learn about how Saturn’s rings formed and what lies beneath the gas giant’s layers of clouds.

On its final dive on Sept. 15, Cassini will destroy itself by flying directly into Saturn’s crushing atmosphere.