--- title: Google Doodle Marks Cassini Exploration of Saturn and Rings description: The Google Doodle's launch coincides with the start of the probe's "Grand Finale," as it explores Saturn's rings. canonical: https://time.com/4755236/google-doodle-cassini-spacecraft-saturn-rings/ author: Kevin Lui article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-04-26T03:23:40.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:43:06.525Z og:title: Google Doodle Marks Cassini Exploration of Saturn and Rings og:description: It's the start of the Cassini probe's "Grand Finale" og:url: https://time.com/4755236/google-doodle-cassini-spacecraft-saturn-rings/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt21d91591046f29a6/6988caa597cdffd6f86b06c7/cassini-spacecraft-dives-between-saturn-and-its-rings-5717425520640000-2xa.gif?branch=production&width=818&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 818 og:image:height: 460 og:image:alt: cassini-spacecraft-dives-between-saturn-and-its-rings-5717425520640000-2xa og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Google Doodle Marks Cassini Exploration of Saturn and Rings twitter:description: It's the start of the Cassini probe's "Grand Finale" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt21d91591046f29a6/6988caa597cdffd6f86b06c7/cassini-spacecraft-dives-between-saturn-and-its-rings-5717425520640000-2xa.gif?branch=production&width=818&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Google Doodle Marks the Cassini Spacecraft's Final Exploration of Saturn and Its Rings > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. by [Kevin Lui](https://time.com/author/kevin-lui/) ## Kevin Lui Apr 26, 2017 3:23 AM UTC  Google by [Kevin Lui](https://time.com/author/kevin-lui/) ## Kevin Lui Apr 26, 2017 3:23 AM UTC The Cassini spacecraft’s decade-long exploration around Saturn and its satellites has yielded a [stunning](http://time.com/4143526/saturn-nasa-cassini-photos/) [collection](http://time.com/4005686/see-last-cassini-saturn-moon-photos/) [of](http://time.com/4150605/saturns-moons-cosmic-bullseye/) [photos](http://time.com/4003903/best-cassini-saturn-photos/) and tons of [other](http://time.com/collection-post/4122854/top-10-space-moments/item/cassini-saturn-probe-swoops-through-an-enceladus-plume/) [discoveries](http://time.com/4450810/nasa-saturn-moon-titan/). But before the probe [ends its mission](http://time.com/4593655/cassini-spacecraft-mission-end-saturn-space/) by crashing into the planet’s atmosphere, the Cassini will first cross into the region between the gaseous giant and its famed rings to tell us more about them. Cassini’s “Grand Finale” is the subject of Wednesday’s Google doodle, available on the search engine’s homepage globally. The maneuver will hopefully yield “detailed maps of Saturn’s gravity and magnetic fields,” help scientists understand the origins and makeup of the rings, and allow the probe to take “ultra-close images of Saturn’s rings and clouds,” [according to](https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/grand-finale/overview/) NASA. In the [animated doodle](https://www.google.com/doodles/cassini-spacecraft-dives-between-saturn-and-its-rings), the Cassini, personified as a playful triangular interstellar photographer, sneaks a selfie before swooping in between Saturn and its rings to take as many snaps as it can. “Who knows what marvels this hardy explorer will uncover in the final chapter of its mission?” asks Google. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4755236/google-doodle-cassini-spacecraft-saturn-rings/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4755236/google-doodle-cassini-spacecraft-saturn-rings/"},"headline":"Google Doodle Marks the Cassini Spacecraft's Final Exploration of Saturn and Its Rings","datePublished":"2017-04-26T03:23:40.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:43:06.525Z","description":"The probe will end its mission by crashing into the planet's atmosphere after exploring Saturn's rings","url":"https://time.com/4755236/google-doodle-cassini-spacecraft-saturn-rings/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Space","NASA","Google Doodle","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt21d91591046f29a6/6988caa597cdffd6f86b06c7/cassini-spacecraft-dives-between-saturn-and-its-rings-5717425520640000-2xa.gif?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kevin Lui","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kevin-lui/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt21d91591046f29a6/6988caa597cdffd6f86b06c7/cassini-spacecraft-dives-between-saturn-and-its-rings-5717425520640000-2xa.gif?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"cassini-spacecraft-dives-between-saturn-and-its-rings-5717425520640000-2xa","caption":"","creditText":"Google","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4755236/google-doodle-cassini-spacecraft-saturn-rings/","name":"Google Doodle Marks the Cassini Spacecraft's Final Exploration of Saturn and Its Rings"}}]}] ```