The U.S. space agency NASA received final signals from its Cassini aircraft last Friday as it ended a journey of 20 years on September 15, 2017 with a meteor-like plunge into the ringed planet’s atmosphere. In this handout image, the moon Enceladus and the edge of Saturn are seen from the Cassini spacecraft on its descent towards the planet.

The spacecraft, the intrepid robotic explorer of Saturn’s magnificent beauty, shot across Saturn’s sky, sending pictures till its fiery end. The picture on the far right is a shot of Saturn taken in 2016.

Through the years, it produced 450,000 images and 645 gigabytes of data and gave scientists a ringside seat to the sixth planet from the sun. The discoveries included seasonal changes on Saturn, a hexagon-shaped pattern on its north pole and the moon Titan’s resemblance to a primordial Earth.

As Reuters reported, scientists took to social media to say goodbye. Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson said on Twitter: “Farewell Cassini, how far you've come...in fiery death, Saturn & you are one. VIP (Vaporize in Peace)...”