Cassini to make unprecedented flyby of Saturn's Enceladus.

NASA has engineered a most unusual flyby of Saturn's moon Enceladus. The spacecraft, will make its closest approach to date, where it will will skirt along the edges of huge geysers that erupt

from fractures on the south pole of Enceladus. Cassini will test for water-ice, dust and gas in the plume. The source of the geysers is of great interest to scientists who think liquid water, perhaps even an ocean, may exist in the area. While flying through the edge of the plumes, Cassini will be approximately 120 miles from the surface. At closest approach to Enceladus, Cassini will be only 30 miles from the moon. In 2005, Cassini's multiple instruments discovered that the tiny moon was gushing water vapor geysers out to a distance of three times its radius. This is the first of four Cassini flybys of Enceladus this year. In June, Cassini completes its prime mission, a four-year tour of Saturn. Cassini's next flyby of Enceladus is planned for August, well into Cassini's proposed extended mission. Cassini will perform seven Enceladus flybys in its extended mission.

Update: here are some of the first pics of that encounter