Washington, August 27: NASA's Cassini spacecraft has captured raw images of Hyperion on August 25, when the space craft flew past Saturn's oddly shaped moon at a distance of about 15,500 miles (25,000 kilometres), making this the second closest encounter.

Hyperion is a small moon -- just 168 miles (270 kilometres) across. It has an irregular shape and surface appearance, and it rotates chaotically as it tumbles along in orbit.

This odd rotation prevented scientists from predicting exactly what terrain the spacecraft's cameras would image during this flyby.

However, this flyby's closeness has likely allowed Cassini's cameras to map new territory. At the very least, it will help scientists improve colour measurements of the moon.

It will also help them determine how the moon's brightness changes as lighting and viewing conditions change, which can provide insight into the texture of the surface.

The colour measurements provide additional information about different materials on the moon's deeply pitted surface.

Cassini's closest encounter with Hyperion was on September 26, 2005, when the spacecraft flew approximately 310 miles (500 kilometers) above the moon''s surface. (ANI)