On October 15, 1997, the Cassini spacecraft rocketed into space, beginning a seven-year journey to Saturn. On board was the Huygens probe and an array of powerful instruments. On July 1, 2004 Universal Time (June 30 in U.S. time zones), Cassini began orbiting the ringed planet. It will orbit Saturn for four years while it investigates the rings, moons, and features of the planet itself.

The Huygens probe separated from Cassini in December 2004 and coasted a million miles to Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. In January 2005 it descended through Titan’s smoggy atmosphere, and landed on the moon’s surface. [See Updates for the story of the probe’s successful mission.]

This Website was begun in 2004 in anticipation of Cassini’s arrival at Saturn. New information and images will be added as the Cassini-Huygens mission advances.

Visit NASA's Cassini Web site for additional resources
for students, educators, scientists, and museums!

Saturn: Jewel of the Solar System is made possible
through the generosity of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation,
the Jim Clark Endowment for Internet Education, and the McBean Family Foundation.

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