U.S. spacecraft shares first view from inside Saturn's rings

Saturn's atmosphere seen closer than ever before was captured by NASA's Cassini spacecraft during its first Grand Finale dive past the planet on April 26 and released on April 27, 2017. Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute/Handout via REUTERS

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - NASA's Cassini spacecraft sent the closest-ever images of Saturn on Thursday after surviving its first plunge inside the planet's rings, the U.S. space agency said.

A stream of pictures showing Saturn's swirling clouds, massive hurricane and odd six-sided vortex weather system were transmitted back to Earth by Cassini, which has been exploring Saturn for 13 years.