News about the flyby: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/media/cassini-20080313.html
Apparently, while the CDA (Cosmic Dust Analyzer, see the thread in the general section) wasn't able to record any data during closest approach because of a software glitch, it did before and after, so the instrument wasn't rendered useless after all.
"During Cassini's closest approach, two instruments were collecting data--the Cosmic Dust Analyzer and the Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer. An unexplained software hiccup with Cassini's Cosmic Dust Analyzer instrument prevented it from collecting any data during closest approach, although the instrument did get data before and after the approach. During the flyby, the instrument was switching between two versions of software programs. The new version was designed to increase the ability to count particle hits by several hundred hits per second. The other four fields and particles instruments on the spacecraft, in addition to the ion and neutral mass spectrometer, did capture all of their data, which will complement the overall composition studies and elucidate the unique plume environment of Enceladus. "
eeergo - 26/3/2008 3:10 PMThis is huge... another moon to look really seriously at, to add to the Titan and Europa list (my list would run too long if we counted geologically interesting moons, I'm just referring to the best candidates for liquid water )Still shuffling through the information, Cassini is simply wonderful.
nobodyofconsequence - 27/3/2008 12:55 AMThe impressive result here is the beginnings of a rational understanding of how Saturn's moons "geology" functions.Didn't think we'd learn this to much later missions. Cassini/Huygens is turning out to be a legendary mission in many ways.It also has humorous notes - we're looking at the end of hydrocarbon fuels on Earth, at a time when a planetary-scale refinery has been discovered within our solar system. How ironic. We are even understanding how it works.
Agreed on those. There has been a media briefing update (kindly recorded by John44, now in Space-Multimedia) and here it can be replayed.