Cassini plunges to its death at Saturn, and humanity says goodbye

“We have loss of signal.�

And with that, the Cassini spacecraft’s 13 years of exploration at Saturn came to a fiery end.

In the mission control room at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Julie Webster, head of spacecraft operations, called Cassini’s time of death at 4:55 a.m. PDT. With loss of signal, she said, “that would be the end of the spacecraft.�

The scientists and engineers in their matching purple polo shirts were quiet. Then there were a few tears.

“I hope you’re all deeply proud of this amazing accomplishment,� said Earl Maize, Cassini’s project manager. “Congratulations to you all. This has been an incredible mission, an incredible spacecraft.�

Full coverage of Cassini's Grand Finale »

That sentiment was shared well beyond JPL in La Cañada Flintridge.

There was even a little poetry ...

And some humor …

At least one person in Mission Control was able to look on the bright side:

Here’s another optimistic way to look at the mission’s end:

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UPDATES:

6:15 a.m.: This article was updated with additional reaction.

This article was originally published at 5:30 a.m.