It may have the look of a giant sponge, but this is Saturn's moon Hyperion, as pictured by the Cassini spacecraft.
The US-European probe has just made a flyby of the satellite, crossing its surface at a distance of just 500km.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4298080.stm
That is one weird chunk of rock!
Hyperion, one of Saturn's many moons, is covered in the raw material necessary for life to form, according to new data from NASA's Cassini space craft.
The probe identified water and carbon dioxide ices, as well as dark material that fits the spectral profile of hydrocarbons, NASA said.
More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/07/05/hyperion_hydro_carbon/
Cassini Caught in Hyperion's Particle Beam
Static electricity is known to play an important role on Earth's airless, dusty moon, but evidence of static charge building up on other objects in the solar system has been elusive until now. A new analysis of data from NASA's Cassini mission has revealed that, during a 2005 flyby of Saturn's moon Hyperion, the spacecraft was briefly bathed in a beam of electrons coming from the moon's electrostatically charged surface.
The finding represents the first confirmed detection of a charged surface on an object other than our moon, although it is predicted to occur on many different bodies, including asteroids and comets.
The new analysis was led by Tom Nordheim, a doctoral candidate at Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL), University College London, and was published recently in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
More: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4340
Cassini Prepares for Last Up-close Look at Hyperion
NASA's Cassini spacecraft will make its final close approach to Saturn's large, irregularly shaped moon Hyperion on Sunday, May 31.
The Saturn-orbiting spacecraft will pass Hyperion at a distance of about 21,000 miles (34,000 kilometers) at approximately 6:36 a.m. PDT (9:36 a.m. EDT). Mission controllers expect images from the encounter to arrive on Earth within 24 to 48 hours.
Mission scientists have hopes of seeing different terrain on Hyperion than the mission has previously explored in detail during the encounter, but this is not guaranteed. Hyperion (168 miles, 270 kilometers across) rotates chaotically, essentially tumbling unpredictably through space as it orbits Saturn. Because of this, it's challenging to target a specific region of the moon's surface, and most of Cassini's previous close approaches have encountered more or less the same familiar side of the craggy moon.
More: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4606
Cassini Sends Final Close Views of Odd Moon Hyperion
NASA's Cassini spacecraft has returned images from its final close approach to Saturn's oddball moon Hyperion, upholding the moon's reputation as one of the most bizarre objects in the solar system. The views show Hyperion's deeply impact-scarred surface, with many craters displaying dark material on their floors.
Raw, unprocessed images from the May 31 flyby are available via the Cassini mission website at:
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/photos/raw
A selection of some of the images is also available from the Cassini imaging team's website at:
http://www.ciclops.org/view_event/208/HYPERION-REV-216-RAW-PREVIEW
During this flyby, Cassini passed Hyperion at a distance of about 21,000 miles (34,000 kilometers) at closest approach. Cassini's closest-ever Hyperion flyby took place on Sept. 26, 2005, at a distance of 314 miles (505 kilometers).
More: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4608