This map of the surface of Enceladus illustrates the regions that will be
imaged by NASA's Cassini spacecraft during its planned very close flyby on
July 14, 2005. At closest approach, the spacecraft is expected to pass
approximately 175 kilometers (108 miles) above the moon's surface. This
is less than half the distance of Cassini's previous encounter with
Enceladus (505 kilometers, 314 miles across), in March of this year.
The colored lines delineate the regions that will be imaged at the range
of resolutions listed in the legend below.
An important scientific goal of this close flyby, during which Cassini
will view the moon's previously unseen south pole, will be to search for
evidence of geologically recent tectonic or volcanic activity.
During the March 2005 Enceladus flyby, Cassini revealed fractures at
southern latitudes, which have intriguing spectral differences from the
surrounding terrain (see PIA06208). This possibly indicates the presence
of coarse-grained ice on the walls of geologically recent, large cracks
in the surface.
The map was made from images obtained by both the Cassini and Voyager
spacecrafts.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European
Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages
the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The
Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and
assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science
Institute, Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov.
For additional images visit the Cassini imaging team homepage http://ciclops.org.
