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[i]The propellant remaining could be used for a few additional years of operations, but the scientific value of the observations during that time is much smaller than the scientific value of the mission's Grand Finale.[/i]
[i]Over the past decade, Cassini data have revealed the potential of two moons of Saturn, Enceladus and Titan, to contain habitable — or at least "prebiotic" — environments. It is unlikely but possible that Cassini could someday collide with one of these moons if it were left in orbit around Saturn. Based upon exposure experiments on the International Space Station, it is known that some microbes and microbial spores from Earth are able to survive many years in the space environment — even with no air or water, and minimal protection from radiation. Therefore, NASA has chosen to dispose of the spacecraft in Saturn's atmosphere to avoid the possibility that viable microbes from Cassini could potentially contaminate Saturn's moons — principally Enceladus, and to a lesser extent, Titan. This will ensure that Cassini cannot spoil future studies of habitability and potential life on those moons.
Concepts were evaluated for parking Cassini in an orbit around Saturn that would have been stable for a long time, along with a variety of other mission scenarios. However, the Grand Finale of close dives past the outer and inner edges of the rings, and ultra-close brushes with the planet and its small, inner moons, offered such enormous scientific value that this scenario was chosen for the mission's conclusion.[/i]
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