Cassini Spacecraft Approaches Jupiter . ... Credit Copyright: Cassini Imaging Team , Cassini Project , NASA Explanation: A new spacecraft has entered the outer Solar System: Cassini . Launched in 1997 and bound for Saturn in 2004, Cassini sent back the above image last week while approaching the giant planet Jupiter . Cassini joins the Galileo spacecraft currently in orbit around Jupiter in studying the gas giant and its moons. ... NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers . ...