The Cassini mission, which will end on Friday, is one of the most wonderful achievements of the human race. The flypasts of Jupiter and its moons, reached after three years, and then the orbit of Saturn attained four years later, are wonders of remote control and communication. Now that the probe has spent 12 years in orbit around Saturn and among its moons, the end is close. Instead, we have a possible and partial revival of manned space exploration. Nasa itself has a hugely ambitious project underway to send a manned flight to Mars some time after 2030.

Source: The Guardian September 11, 2017 18:33 UTC