Todd Barber, NASA’s lead propulsion engineer on the project, says the transmission signal from the unmanned probe was received at 0301 GMT Thursday.

The probe was expected to be at a height of nearly 120 miles (193 kilometers) above the surface of the moon Enceladus as it sweeps through the edge of the geysers and measures their chemical makeup.

In 2005, Cassini snapped images of geyser-like eruptions of ice particles and water vapor spewing from Enceladus’ south pole. That put it on the shortlist of places within the solar system most likely to have conditions suitable for extraterrestrial life.

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