What is to become of the spacecraft? Is it eventually going to degrade and smash into Saturns atmosphere?
This is currently undecided. We are waiting until we see what targets may turn out to be environmentally sensitive, and then make a decision regarding the final disposition of the spacecraft. Going into Saturn’s atmosphere as Galileo did at Jupiter may be difficult to accomplish because of the need to fly through the rings for an orbit or two and yet maintain a functioning spacecraft capable of going the rest of the way down to the atmosphere. The orbit of the spacecraft won’t degrade by itself. We would have to actively control it to a Saturn impact if that is the way the mission is finally ended.
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