Cassini, the most distant planetary orbiter ever launched, is closing in on its doom.

On Sept. 15 the NASA spacecraft will take its final, fateful plunge through Saturn’s rings. Its fuel exhausted, its missions to explore Saturn and its moons triumphantly fulfilled, the two-and-a-half-ton vehicle will burn up as it falls into the red planet’s atmosphere.

The pioneering space probe will leave no trace, keeping the surface of Saturn and its moons pristine for future exploration.

Even on the way down, the plucky spacecraft will continue to send back data. Eight of its twelve science instruments will be operating, allowing the spacecraft to directly sample the composition of the atmosphere and potentially returning insights into the giant planet’s formation and evolution.

Cassini’s long journey has been replete with scientific firsts, planetary revelations and jaw-dropping, awesome images.

Here, a look at some of Cassini’s most dramatic discoveries. 

Cassini has revolutionized our understanding of Saturn. It chronicled the start of a massive, months-long storm, seen here encircling the planet. Researchers had expected to find a quiet atmosphere.

 Rings around Saturn. From the planet’s equator, its rings would appear thin, since they’d be seen edge-on. Closer to the poles, the rings would appear much wider, in some locations blocking the sun for part of each day.

Cassini’s astonishing, detailed images of Saturn’s dazzling main rings revealed features such as “straw” and “propellers” in the icy debris.

Bands of clouds on Saturn appear to be shaped by a cosmic brush thanks to the way that fluids interact in the planet’s atmosphere. 

This view of southern latitudes on Enceladus show the bluish “tiger stripe” fractures that rip across the south polar region of the mysterious moon.

Dramatic plumes spray water ice and vapor along the famed “tiger stripes” near the south pole of Enceladus. A global ocean lies beneath the icy crust of Saturn’s moon.

Two views of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, shrouded in a veil of hydrocarabon haze. A large, bright and feather band of summer clouds can be seen in the view at the right.

Sunlight glints off Titan’s liquid methane northern seas. More than 620,000 square miles of Titan’s surface, 2 percent of the total, are covered in liquid.

One of the highest-resolution views ever taken of Saturn’s moon Pandora.

Cassini gazes across the icy rings of Saturn toward the icy moon, Tethys.

Unusual arc-shaped, reddish streaks cut across the surface of Saturn’s ice-rich moon Tethys. 

Artist’s concept of Cassini burning up in Saturn’s atmosphere. 

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