1. Pioneer 11 (1979)
* Flyby: September 1, 1979
* First spacecraft to fly by Saturn, taking the first close-up images of the planet and its rings.
2. Voyager 1 (1980)
* Flyby: November 12, 1980
* Provided more detailed images of Saturn and its moons, discovering several new moons and revealing the complexity of Saturn's ring system.
3. Voyager 2 (1981)
* Flyby: August 25, 1981
* Continued the exploration of Saturn, revealing its atmosphere, magnetic field, and more about its moons.
4. Cassini-Huygens (2004-2017)
* Orbit: June 30, 2004 - September 15, 2017
* An orbiter mission that extensively studied Saturn, its rings, and its moons, including the landing of the Huygens probe on Titan.
Other Missions:
* New Horizons (2007)
* Juno (2016-present)
While New Horizons and Juno were primarily aimed at Pluto and Jupiter, respectively, they also took observations of Saturn during their journeys.
It's important to note that these dates refer to the primary encounters with Saturn. The missions themselves might have spanned longer periods. For example, Cassini-Huygens orbited Saturn for over 13 years.
