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Space Voyagers In 1977, two more space probes set off from Earth to explore the giant planets. Named Voyager 1 and 2 , they had better cameras, instruments, and computers than the Pioneers . They were programmed to take close-up pictures, not only of the two giant planets but also of their moons. During their encounters with Jupiter (February and July 1979), the two Voyagers sent back many superb pictures. They discovered a ring and several new moons and they showed that Jupiter’s four large moons were amazingly different from one another. When they arrived at Saturn (November 1980 and August 1981), the Voyagers spotted storms in the planet’s atmosphere and many new moons. They sent back

Explorations continue Further exploration of Jupiter and Saturn from space did not start until the 1990s. The Hubble Space Telescope, launched in 1990, began taking regular pictures to show how the two planets change as time goes by. The probe Galileo began investigating Jupiter and its large moons when it went into orbit around the planet in 1995. It also dropped a probe to report on conditions in Jupiter’s atmosphere. The probe Cassini set off in 1997 for encounters with Saturn and its moon Titan.

spectacular views of Saturn’s rings, showing that they are made up of thousands of little ringlets. After leaving Saturn, Voyager 1

began heading out of the Solar System, but Voyager 2’ s mission was far from over. It had two more planets

to visit—Uranus and Neptune.

∆ The Voyagers’ better cameras showed Jupiter’s atmosphere much more clearly than ever before.

∆ Voyager 2 is launched by a Titan-Centaur rocket on August 20, 1977.

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