Saturn was first explored by the Pioneer 11 spacecraft in September 1979.
It flew as close as 20,000 km (12,427 mi) above the planet's cloud tops.
It took photographs of the planet and a few of its moons, but were low in resolution.
It discovered a new, thin ring called the F ring.
It also discovered that the dark ring gaps appear bright when viewed towards the Sun, which shows the gaps are not empty of material.
The spacecraft measured the temperature of the moon Titan.

In November 1980, Voyager 1 visited Saturn, and took higher resolution photographs of the planet, rings and moons.
These photos were able to show the surface features of the moons.
Voyager 1 went close to Titan, and gained much information about its atmosphere.
In August, 1981, Voyager 2 continued to study the planet.
Photos taken by the space probe showed that changes were happening to the rings and atmosphere.
The Voyager spacecrafts discovered a number of moons orbiting close to Saturn's rings, as well as discovering new ring gaps.

On July 1, 2004, the Cassini−Huygens probe entered into orbit around Saturn.
Before then, it flew close to Phoebe, taking very high resolution photos of its surface and collecting data.
On December 25, 2004, the Huygens probe separated from the Cassini probe before moving down towards Titan's surface and landed there on January 14, 2005.
It landed on a dry surface, but it found that large bodies of liquid exist on the moon.
The Cassini probe continued to collect data from Titan and a number of the icy moons.
It found evidence that the moon Enceladus had water erupting from its geysers.
Cassini also proved, in July 2006, that Titan had hydrocarbon lakes, located near its north pole.
In March 2007, it discovered a large hydrocarbon lake the size of the Caspian Sea near its north pole.

Cassini observed lightning occurring in Saturn since early 2005.
The power of the lightning was measured to be 1,000 times more powerful than lightning on Earth.
Astronomers believe that the lightning observed in Saturn is the strongest ever seen.
Saturn was first explored by the Pioneer 11 spacecraft in September 1979. It flew as close as 20,000 km (12,427 mi) above the planet's cloud tops. It took photographs of the planet and a few of its moons, but were low in resolution. It discovered a new, thin ring called the F ring. It also discovered that the dark ring gaps appear bright when viewed towards the Sun, which shows the gaps are not empty of material. The spacecraft measured the temperature of the moon Titan.
In November 1980, Voyager 1 visited Saturn, and took higher resolution photographs of the planet, rings and moons. These photos were able to show the surface features of the moons. Voyager 1 went close to Titan, and gained much information about its atmosphere. In August, 1981, Voyager 2 continued to study the planet. Photos taken by the space probe showed that changes were happening to the rings and atmosphere. The Voyager spacecrafts discovered a number of moons orbiting close to Saturn's rings, as well as discovering new ring gaps.
On July 1, 2004, the Cassini−Huygens probe entered into orbit around Saturn. Before then, it flew close to Phoebe, taking very high resolution photos of its surface and collecting data. On December 25, 2004, the Huygens probe separated from the Cassini probe before moving down towards Titan's surface and landed there on January 14, 2005. It landed on a dry surface, but it found that large bodies of liquid exist on the moon. The Cassini probe continued to collect data from Titan and a number of the icy moons. It found evidence that the moon Enceladus had water erupting from its geysers. Cassini also proved, in July 2006, that Titan had hydrocarbon lakes, located near its north pole. In March 2007, it discovered a large hydrocarbon lake the size of the Caspian Sea near its north pole.
Cassini observed lightning occurring in Saturn since early 2005. The power of the lightning was measured to be 1,000 times more powerful than lightning on Earth. Astronomers believe that the lightning observed in Saturn is the strongest ever seen.
Saturn