Following the light of the sun, we left the Old World.

— Inscription on Columbus' caravels

NASA. planets

Visitors to Both Jupiter and Saturn

by David Prosper

 Have you observed Jupiter and Saturn moving closer to each other over the past few months? On December 21, the two worlds will be at their closest, around 1/5 of a full Moon apart! While the two gas giants may appear close, in reality they are hundreds of millions of miles apart. Despite this vast distance, a select few missions have visited both worlds by using a gravity assist from giant Jupiter to slingshot them towards Saturn, saving time and fuel.