Cassini’s Final Hours by the Numbers

Cassini spent part of its Grand Finale diving through the gap between Saturn and its rings, taking observations that had never before been attempted. (Credit: JPL/Caltech) The Cassini probe has given us a spectacular view of the Saturn system over the 13 years it’s been there. In that time, it’s opened up untold wonders of our second-largest planet and its 62 spectacular moons. Here are a few big-to-small numbers to know as Cassini prepares for self-destruction:4.9 billion miles: the total distance traversed by Cassini in the Saturn system since 2004 635 gigabytes: the total volume of data sent back by Cassini 615 watts: the amount of power Cassini currently produces 512 kilobytes: the amount of onboard storage capacity on Cassini 294: the number of times Cassini flew by Titan and received a gravity boost, including a few skims through the upper atmosphere Plutonium 238: Cassini's power source 24: approximate number ...