Missions to Saturn

Just the Facts

Adorned with thousands of beautiful ringlets, Saturn is unique among the planets. All four gas giant planets have rings -- made of chunks of ice and rock -- but none are as spectacular or as complicated as Saturn's. Like the other gas giants, Saturn is mostly a massive ball of hydrogen and helium.

Distance from the sun: About 900 million miles, nearly 10 times as far as Earth is from the sun.

Year: About 29 Earth years.

Day: About 10.7 Earth hours.

Diameter: About 72,000 miles, nine times the size of Earth.

Effective temperature: - 288° Fahrenheit.

Atmosphere: Hydrogen, helium.