1957: The launch of the International Geophysical Year marks a major turning point for the exploration of Antarctica. In a spirit of scientific cooperation, several major powers establish or reinforce permanent research stations, including Amundsen-Scott at the South Pole and Vostok. This diplomacy through science prepares the ground for the Antarctic Treaty of 1959.

2004: The Cassini-Huygens probe successfully achieves orbit insertion around Saturn after a seven-year journey spanning several billion kilometres across the solar system. A perfectly calibrated braking manoeuvre allows the probe to be captured by Saturn’s gravity. This delicate operation opens an exceptional thirteen-year mission dedicated to studying Saturn’s atmosphere, its rings, its magnetic field, and its numerous moons.

Image credits : nasa.gov