Since its discovery in 1610 by Galileo,
the rings of Saturn have enchanted us for centuries.
Remarkably, we've visited Saturn before.
Stunning photographs
taken from the Cassini space probe
have revealed that Saturn's rings
are much more complex than you might think.
So what would it be like
to actually go in person?
This is What If, and here's what would happen
On October 15th, 1997,
NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Italian Space Agency
banded together to change the history of astronomy.
Their mission was to study the Saturn system,
a diverse mix of stellar objects
made up of rocks, ice and several moons.
Together they developed the space probe
which was propelled on a seven year journey to Saturn.
Let's imagine we had the technology
to bring you, traveler, along for the ride.
What kind of adventure are you in for?
Well, luckily, we're taking the scenic route.
After a year of drifting through space
and saying goodbye to Earth,
our first stop is Venus.
Don't worry, this isn't a layover,
we're merely visiting the outer edge of Venus' orbit,
giving you a gravitational speed boost as you pass by.
This will allow you to save on fuel
and take in the view of Venus' swirling scenery.
After the first orbit, you'll get a nice boost of 7 km/s (4 mi/s).
But we'll need one more journey around it
for the optimal speed boost.
This time, we'll be about 600 km (370 mi) from Venus.
I hope you have a strong stomach, traveler,
as the gravitational pull might be like
that time you ate funnel cake
before going on that spinny ride at the fair.
Ugh, never again.
After a quick spin around Venus,
you'll be slingshotted towards Mars and Jupiter,
but this part of the ride might get a little bumpy,
so buckle up.
You're about to pass through an asteroid belt.
Fortunately, the chances of hitting
an asteroid are pretty slim
as they are very spread apart,
unlike what you see in the movies.
Still, you never know.
Just be prepared to take manual control
in case your proximity sensors malfunction.
Once you've made it through the scary part,
it's fairly smooth sailing from here on out.
Sit back and admire the view.
On your right, in the distance, you'll see the red planet, Mars.
And on your left, is Jupiter.
Look, that shiny speck orbiting the gas giant
a small yet welcome reminder of home.
At this point, it's been almost five years.
Wow, how time flies when you're being hurled through space.
Saturn is our next stop.
But is it safe? We're about to find out.
After waiting a couple of years,
doing lots of Sudoku
and rewatching all your favorite What If videos,
we've finally arrived in orbit of Saturn.
Surprisingly, the flat and solid ring structure
you've seen in pictures back home
were way off.
These rings are complex systems of orbits,
subdivided by several different sections.
Each of these rings are seperated by gaps
made from over 60 of Saturn's moons.
The rings are made up of chunks of ice and rock,
some as small as little boulders
and some as big as houses.
These are the remnants of comets,
asteroids, meteoroids and shattered moons,
torn apart by Saturn's gravity.
Alright traveler, it's time for a spacewalk.
You probably won't have much success
walking on Saturn's rings
unless you happen to land
on one of its moons,
which has been considered a potential site
for a future space colony.
But you'll want to keep your space suit on,
as Titan is a chilly -179.6°C (-292°F).
At this point, you're almost twice the distance
between the Earth and the Sun.
Now for the moment of truth.
As we approach the final rings of Saturn,
we'll have to fly through them
on a careful trajectory,
orbiting Saturn 22 times
to get our best travel shots.
Here, you'd be only 2,000 km (1240 mi) away from Saturn's atmosphere.
After about 20 years in space,
you'd reach Saturn's interior.
Let's be honest, you'd likely disintegrate.
But, thankfully, you were careful
and managed to hang around on Titan instead,
leaving the Cassini probe
to do the rest of the work.
The amount of data Cassini managed
to send back to Earth
is truly spellbinding,
making it one of humankind's
greatest success stories in astronomy.
Maybe on our next voyage,
we could take a closer look
at Saturn's big brother, Jupiter.
But not too close. Because, well,
that's a story for another What If.