On Sept. 15, after 20 years in flight, more than 2 billion miles traveled, and a series of groundbreaking planetary orbits, Cassini will enter Saturn's atmosphere and disappear.
Since its first orbit in 2004, Cassini has given scientists an unprecedentedly detailed look at one of our solar system's most complex and photogenic planets.
In 2007, Cassini shot "On the Final Frontier," arguably the most iconic image of the planet ever captured.
The craft recorded this cross-section panorama of Saturn's rings, composed of 45 different images, immediately afterward.
This 2005 photo of the planet's northern hemisphere captures it in blue, closer to the color of Uranus or Neptune than previously thought.
That same year, Cassini photographed a massive storm in the planet's southern hemisphere, dubbed the Dragon Storm.
Five years later, Cassini captured images of yet another storm, one of the most violent ever recorded in the solar system.
Cassini documented the movement of methane clouds on Titan, indicating that seasons change on Saturn's largest moon .
In several flybys of Titan between 2007 and 2014, the craft tracked the appearance of a "magic island" floating in a methane and ethane sea on the moon's surface.
To kick off its farewell tour, what its operators are calling its "grand finale," Cassini captured one of its best photos — a stunning image of Saturn's polar vortex bathed in sunlight.
Like its mythological namesake, Saturn inevitably devours its children — and, apparently, its most dedicated photographers.