It was discovered by Pierre Laques and Jean Lecacheux in 1980 from ground-based observations at Pic du Midi Observatory,[1] and was designated S/1980 S 6.

Helene was initially observed from Earth in 1980,[8] and Voyager flybys of Saturn in the early 1980s allowed much closer views.

Images of Helene taken by the Cassini spacecraft, with resolutions of up to 24 meters per pixel, show a landscape characterized by broad 2–10km scale depressions with interior slopes no greater than 12°.

[12] Thin, elongated km-scale raised grooves trace the slopes of many of Helene's basins, likely representing mass flow features and indicating that the moon is undergoing active geologic processes such as mass-wasting and erosion.

Stress-strain laboratory testing of impact-gardened lunar regolith samples shows that at low packing densities, they behave like Non-Newtonian “Bingham” materials, i.e., having the plastic quality of candle-wax and glaciers.