SEVEN years after blasting off from Earth, one of the most advanced spacecraft ever built will manoeuvre into orbit around Saturn. In June 2004, Cassini will begin to weave its way through the planet's 18-moon system at the start of the most difficult and complex planetary tour ever undertaken.
For four years, it will trace a seemingly chaotic trajectory around the ringed planet and its moons. Instead of following a simple circular or elliptical orbit, it will constantly switch from tight circular orbits lasting only 10 days to large elliptical "petals" that will send it on 100-day excursions more than 400 000 kilometres from the planet. At times it will hug the equator studying cloud formations, while at others it will soar to high latitudes and look down on Saturn's poles and its famous rings. Most exciting of all, Cassini will skim the surface of at least five Saturnian ...
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