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Dashed edge = started before, or continues beyond, this day
Events on Saturday 1 September 1979 1
1979Pioneer 11 makes first flyby of SaturnNASA probe becomes the first spacecraft to visit the planetNASA's Pioneer 11 spacecraft flew past Saturn on 1 September 1979, becoming the first probe to visit the ringed planet. It returned the first close-up images of Saturn's rings and discovered a new ring and two additional moons. Voyager 1 and 2 followed with more detailed flybys the next year.