This unprocessed image of Saturn's moon Atlas was taken on April 12, 2017, by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

These raw, unprocessed images of Saturn's moon, Atlas, were taken on April 12, 2017, by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. The flyby had a close-approach distance of about 7,000 miles (11,000 kilometers).

These images are the closest ever taken of Atlas and will help to characterize its shape and geology. Atlas (19 miles, or 30 kilometers across) orbits Saturn just outside the A ring—the outermost of the planet's bright, main rings.

  • This unprocessed image of Saturn's moon Atlas was taken on April 12, 2017, by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

  • This unprocessed image of Saturn's moon Atlas was taken on April 12, 2017, by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

  • This unprocessed image of Saturn's moon Atlas was taken on April 12, 2017, by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

More information: Additional raw images from Cassini are available at saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/galleries/raw-images

Provided by Jet Propulsion Laboratory