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Say 'cheese'! Cassini probe ZOOMS IN on Saturn's craggy Dione moon

NASA: Spacecraft flies within 300 miles of icy surface

NASA's Cassini spacecraft has passed tantalisingly close to Saturn's pitted, icy Dione moon.

The probe was within 321 miles (516 kilometres) of Dione on 16 June, the US space agency said.

Cassini will have an even closer encounter with the moon on 17 August, when it's expected to swoop within 295 miles (474 kilometres) of Dione.

However, this won't be the probe's closest flyby: in December 2011, Cassini was just 60 miles (100 kilometres) above the moon, NASA said.

Last month, the 'craft flew by Hyperion – another of Saturn's many moons. But that body was viewed by Cassini from thousands of miles away. ®

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