NASAs Galileo was an unmanned spacecraft that was released on October 18, 1989, to study the planet Jupiter and its moons. Called after the popular Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, the mission was developed to provide a comprehensive understanding of Jupiters atmosphere, magnetosphere, and its diverse satellites.
The spacecraft consisted of two main parts: an orbiter and an atmospheric probe. The orbiter was accountable for observing Jupiter and its moons, while the probe was developed to straight get in Jupiters atmosphere and relay data back to Earth.
After a long journey through the planetary system, Galileo got to Jupiter on December 7, 1995, and released its climatic probe, which plunged into Jupiters atmosphere and sent information for about an hour prior to being ruined by the extreme heat and pressure.
The orbiter continued its objective, conducting numerous flybys of Jupiters biggest moons, including Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. The spacecraft discovered proof of subsurface oceans on Europa, volcanic activity on Io, and a magnetic field around Ganymede, among other significant discoveries. The objective was extended numerous times and finally ended on September 21, 2003, when the orbiter was intentionally sent into Jupiters environment to avoid prospective contamination of the Jovian moons with terrestrial microorganisms.
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Galileo brought 10 science instruments and an atmospheric probe to Jupiter for an extensive research study of the huge worlds environment, moons, and magnetosphere from orbit. Galileo was the very first spacecraft to orbit Jupiter and launched the very first probe into Jupiters environment. In 2003, Galileos objective was ended by sending the orbiter into Jupiters atmosphere at a speed of nearly 50 kilometers per second to avoid any opportunity of its contaminating local moons. At the time of its launch, this mission to Jupiter was the most advanced science spacecraft ever developed.
The Galileo spacecraft was released in 1989 by the area shuttle Atlantis on the STS-34 objective. It got to Jupiter on December 7, 1995, a bit more than 6 years later on, by means of gravitational help flybys of Venus and Earth. Galileo carried 10 science instruments and a climatic probe to Jupiter for a comprehensive research study of the huge worlds environment, moons, and magnetosphere from orbit. Galileo was the first spacecraft to orbit Jupiter and released the very first probe into Jupiters environment. In 2003, Galileos mission was ended by sending the orbiter into Jupiters atmosphere at a speed of almost 50 kilometers per 2nd to prevent any possibility of its polluting regional moons. Credit: NASA/JPL
At the time of its launch, this mission to Jupiter was the most sophisticated science spacecraft ever built. Saving Galileo is the story of how NASAs Galileo objective– created, built and run by NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory– was kept alive regardless of a multitude of technical difficulties, including a years-long launch delay after the loss of the space shuttle Challenger and then the destructive failure of its primary antenna following the spacecrafts launch.
Conserving Galileo tells how, despite lots of difficulties and constraints, Galileo showed a resounding success.