NASA approves 2 missions to sample Saturn's rings following Cassini
Technology
NASA just approved two fresh projects to explore Saturn's iconic rings, hoping to answer big questions about how they formed and what they're made of.
Both missions use creative new tech for sampling and analysis, picking up where the 2017 Cassini mission left off.
PRAXIS AI boom, around 10,000 femtosatellites
The first mission, PRAXIS, will use a long, flexible boom, guided by artificial intelligence to gently collect samples from the rings.
The second plan? Launching around 10,000 femtosatellites (tiny probes only a few centimeters across) to zip through Saturn's rings and atmosphere.
Even if some get lost, the swarm approach means plenty of data for scientists back on Earth.