Several countries are a part of the Cassini mission. Click on image for full size (93K JPG) Courtesy of NASA

A spacecraft named Cassini will study the planet Saturn for several years. Cassini blasted off from Earth in October 1997. After flying past Venus, Earth, and Jupiter, Cassini finally arrived at Saturn on July 1, 2004. Cassini will study Saturn from orbit for four years.

Cassini is also studying many of Saturn's moons and the planet's incredible rings. Just before it got to Saturn, Cassini flew near the moon Phoebe. It gave us our first close look at that strange moon on June 11, 2004.

NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) are the main groups behind the Cassini mission. Many different countries helped put the spacecraft together. The mission was named after Giovanni Cassini, who discovered the Cassini Division in Saturn's rings and several of Saturn's moons.

Cassini carries over 12 instruments that it is using to study Saturn and its rings and moons. The main spacecraft also carries a small lander called Huygens. The Huygens Probe will parachute down through Titan's atmosphere and land on the strange moon.