Battered Moon
Mimas, one of the largest moons of Saturn, shows the scars of billions of years of impacts by rocky debris in this close-up view from the Cassini spacecraft, with Saturn's rings in the background. The largest impact crater, which is on the other side of the moon, inspired researchers to nickname Mimas the "Death Star Moon," because it resembles the giant space stations of Star Wars fame. The surface of Mimas is one of the most thoroughly battered in all the solar system, which tells geologists that nothing has happened on the moon itself, such as melting or volcanic eruptions, to erase the craters. [NASA/JPL/SSL] For more information, see our November 12 program.
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