Right: Cassini image of the Saturnian E ring with the icy moon Enceladus. Left: Enceladus in false color.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
The Saturn Dust Project will provide an accessible representation of micrometeoroid/dust populations in the Saturnian system. The work is funded by the European Space Agency (ESA, ESA Contract No. 4000143242/23/NL/CRS). A main goal is the quantitative assessment of the hazard imposed by impacts of micrometeoroids on future spacecraft exploring Saturn and its satellites.
Besides the hazard point of view, the Saturnian system with its magnificent rings is an interesting scientific target for cosmic dust research. The icy plumes of the active moon Enceladus feed dust into Saturn’s E ring, interactions between moonlets and the F and G rings release dust into the system, and impacts of interplanetary meteoroids onto Saturn's moons lead to the formation of ejecta clouds in the vicinity of the moons.