A spacecraft orbiting Saturn with University of Iowa-built instruments on-board is undergoing a course change this week that will take the robotic ship much closer to the ringed planet. U-I research scientist Bill Kurth says the 20-year mission of Cassini is nearing its end and this new direction will be both exciting and saddening. “This brings us to a new phase in the mission we call the Ring Grazing Orbits,” Kurth says. “The orbit will take us very close to Saturn’s F ring, which is a tiny ring on the outer edge of the main ring system.”

Cassini was launched in 1997 and has been orbiting Saturn and its many moons since 2004, so Kurth looks forward to exploring new elements of the mysterious planet’s unique rings. “Even though we fly through what is considered a clear zone, we’ll impact with probably hundreds of tiny dust particles per second,” Kurth says. “The Iowa instrument is sensitive to those impacts and we can understand how many of those dust impacts there are, giving us an idea of what the density of the dust is.”

Next April, new commands will be sent to the spacecraft which will propel it even closer to Saturn, into an orbit that just skims the cloudtops. Kurth says they’ll be able to analyze the lightning in Saturn’s thunderstorms which can sometimes last up to nine months. “This will be below the ring system, the D ring is the inner-most ring, and above Saturn’s atmosphere,” Kurth says. “It’ll be a fantastic opportunity to study Saturn from a vantage point that we haven’t had before.”

Next September, Cassini will be given a final command that will send it plunging into Saturn’s atmosphere where it will burn up, a maneuver which leaves Kurth with mixed emotions. “It’s bittersweet,” Kurth says. “Certainly, we don’t like to see the mission end. It’s been highly successful. We make new discoveries on a regular basis. Certainly, going into these new orbits will be almost like a brand new mission for us.”

Kurth is also one of the lead researchers for Juno, the NASA spacecraft now orbiting Jupiter, which still has many years before it.

(Radio Iowa)

The Creston Police Department reports a man was arrested at the Union County Jail, Wednesday afternoon, on a warrant charging him with Violation of the State’s Sex Offender Registry, 2^nd or subsequent offense. 30-year old Sean Stauffer, of Creston, was later released on a $5,000 bond.

Creston Police said they also took three reports of Theft, Wednesday. A resident of the 300 block of N. Cedar Street reported someone broke out the rear passenger side window of his vehicle, causing an estimated $200 damage. The incident took place sometime overnight Tuesday into Wednesday morning. A resident of the 1000 block of S. Sumner Street reported Wednesday afternoon, that someone broke into her vehicle and took a wallet. That happened sometime between 11-p.m. Tuesday and Noon, Wednesday. The loss was estimated at $20. And, a resident living in the 500 block of W. Spencer Street in Creston, told Police Wednesday night, that someone stole a Laser Light Project from the front yard of their residence. The incident, which happened sometime during the day, Wednesday, resulted in a loss of about $40.

(8-a.m. News)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The director of the Iowa Public Information Board has quit so he can become secretary of the Iowa Senate. The Des Moines Register reports  Charlie Smithson told the board’s nine members in an email last week that his resignation is effective Thursday.

The board enforces the state’s open records and open meeting laws and began operation in July 2013. Smithson has been its director since Dec. 1, 2014. Margaret Johnson will be interim director while the board looks for someone to replace Smithson.

Ed Failor Jr. is an aide to Iowa Senate Republican leader Bill Dix, and Failor confirmed Wednesday that Smithson will be named secretary of the Senate when the GOP takes majority control in January.

The Iowa Department of Corrections reports a man who failed to return from Work Release on Nov. 19th and was listed as escaped, has been apprehended. 30-year old David Michael Evans was arrested Wednesday and was being held in the Polk County Jail.

Evans had been placed on escape status after failing to return to the Fort Des Moines Work Release Facility from his place of employment. He was transferred to Work Release on Oct. 12th.

Evans’ 40-year sentence out of Polk County for Assault While Participating in a Felony and two counts of Prohibited Acts/Drug related, began Jan. 18th, 2013.

David Michael Evans