LOS ANGELES Cheap Asics White Shoes , Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- After 20 years in space, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)'s Cassini spacecraft was running out of fuel.


To protect moons of Saturn that could have conditions suitable for life, the long-lived traveler from Earth made a fateful plunge into the atmosphere of Saturn Friday morning, ending its 13-year tour of the ringed planet.


It's hard to say goodbye, not only for the entire Cassini team, but everyone who looks up at Saturn in the night sky. So, why Cassini matters?


VASTLY EXPANDED OUR KNOWLEDGE


Launched in 1997 Cheap Asics Black Shoes , the 3.26-billion-U.S.-dollar Cassini-Huygens mission has been touring the Saturn system since arriving at the sixth planet from our sun in 2004. The Huygens lander separated from Cassini and plopped down on the surface of Saturn's moon Titan shortly after the arrival.


The Cassini probe had been planned to study the Saturn system until 2008, but the mission was given two extensions that stretched its lifetime into 2017.


During its journey, Cassini has made numerous dramatic discoveries. From Cassini, our knowledge of gas giants, ring systems and icy moons has vastly expanded.


Most excitingly, in revealing that Saturn's moon Enceladus has many of the ingredients needed for life, the mission has inspired a pivot to the exploration of "ocean worlds" that has been sweeping planetary science over the past decade Cheap Asics Running Shoes , experts say.


According to NASA, the more recent revelation that a much smaller moon like Enceladus could also have not only liquid water, but also chemical energy that could potentially power biology, was staggering.


Cassini also performed 127 close flybys of Saturn's haze-enshrouded moon Titan, another of Saturn's moons with some of the most Earth-like features discovered in our solar system that may now be a candidate for future exploration.


By pulling back the veil on Titan, Cassini has ushered in a new era of extraterrestrial oceanography.


The information Cassini gathered has enabled scientists to make discoveries that have warranted the publication of nearly 4,000 scientific papers Cheap Asics Shoes , according media reports.


"Cassini has transformed our thinking in so many ways, but especially with regard to surprising places in the solar system where life could potentially gain a foothold," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate at Headquarters in Washington. "Congratulations to the entire Cassini team!"