With all the problems nowadays that plague the human race,
One wonders why we spend so much to launch a ship through space.

When NASA asks for dough it seems that no one makes a peep,
Because shooting rockets into outer space just isn't cheap.

So even though we have a debt that's hanging on our nation,
We give them countless dollars without any hesitation.

They say that it's well worth it for the info that we find,
And to learn about our galaxy is why it was designed.

Cassini will go out to Saturn, carrying a probe.
The parachute will drop it down (and hope it won't explode).

The finest in technology is riding on this ship,
So we'll strive to reach perfection that gave Mir mortals the slip.

We'll examine Saturn's rings and map out the magnetic field,
And there's no telling just what else this mission probe will yield.

When we arrive the ring plane there will be in perfect tilt,
Allowing us to analyze the stuff of which they're built

We'll even hit some satellites, or you could call them moons;
When seeing icy Enceladus, everybody swoons.

Titan is a mainstay of the places we must go,
To see how proton bombardment makes the exosphere glow.

Iapetus is also on our list of things to view,
So we can find out why the surface seems like split in two.

Half the moon is covered in a substance snowy-white,
While the other half has mineral that looks as dark as night.

I wonder just how many others we'll have time to see,
Hyperion and Mimas, Dione, Rhea, maybe Phoebe,

Prometheus and Janus, whose two faces are at odds.
(By now you've realized the names were stolen from the gods)

But even though the names of these had mythos as their birth,
Cassini is a mission which can help us here on Earth.

Because the mission required lots of new technology,
It can be put to use to help improve our industry.

Miniature receivers, and advanced computer chips,
A solid-state recorder, and also a power switch.

The resource trading system we should really emphasize;
It saves energy and helps to cut pollution down to size.

Well, perhaps if these great benefits are gained from this machine-y,
We should all support the mission out to Saturn called Cassini.

It launches soon and takes with it: our hopes, our dreams, our fears;
So I hope it sends good news when it arrives, in seven years.