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Galileo (spacecraft)

Galileo
Artwork Galileo-Io-Jupiter.JPG
Artist's concept of Galileo at Io; the high-gain antenna is fully deployed
Names Jupiter Orbiter Probe
Mission type Jupiter orbiter
Operator NASA
COSPAR ID 1989-084B
SATCAT no. 20298
Website solarsystem.nasa.gov/galileo/
Mission duration
  • Planned: 8 years, 1 month, 19 days
  • In orbit: 7 years, 9 months, 13 days
  • Final: 13 years, 11 months, 3 days
Distance travelled 4,631,778,000 km (2.88 billion mi)
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer
Launch mass
  • Total: 2,562 kg (5,648 lb)
  • Orbiter: 2,223 kg (4,901 lb)
  • Probe: 339 kg (747 lb)
Dry mass
  • Orbiter: 1,884 kg (4,154 lb)
  • Probe: 339 kg (747 lb)
Payload mass
  • Orbiter: 118 kg (260 lb)
  • Probe: 30 kg (66 lb)
Power
  • Orbiter: 570 watts
  • Probe: 730 watt-hours
Start of mission
Launch date October 18, 1989, 16:53:40 (1989-10-18UTC16:53:40) UTC
Rocket Space Shuttle Atlantis
STS-34 / IUS
Launch site Kennedy LC-39B
Entered service December 8, 1995, 01:16 UTC SCET
End of mission
Disposal Deorbited
Decay date September 21, 2003, 18:57:18 (2003-09-21UTC18:57:19) UTC SCET
Jupiter orbiter
Spacecraft component Orbiter
Orbital insertion December 8, 1995, 01:16 UTC SCET
Jupiter atmospheric probe
Spacecraft component Probe
Atmospheric entry December 7, 1995, 22:04 UTC SCET
Impact site 06°05′N 04°04′W / 6.083°N 4.067°W / 6.083; -4.067 (Galileo Probe)
at entry interface

Galileo mission patch.png


Galileo mission patch.png

Galileo was an American unmanned spacecraft that studied the planet Jupiter and its moons, as well as several other Solar System bodies. Named after the astronomer Galileo Galilei, it consisted of an orbiter and entry probe. It was launched on October 18, 1989, carried by Space Shuttle Atlantis, on the STS-34 mission. Galileo arrived at Jupiter on December 7, 1995, after gravitational assist flybys of Venus and Earth, and became the first spacecraft to orbit Jupiter. It launched the first probe into Jupiter, directly measuring its atmosphere. Despite suffering major antenna problems, Galileo achieved the first asteroid flyby, of 951 Gaspra, and discovered the first asteroid moon, Dactyl, around 243 Ida. In 1994, Galileo observed Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9's collision with Jupiter.

Jupiter's atmospheric composition and ammonia clouds were recorded, the clouds possibly created by outflows from the lower depths of the atmosphere. Io's volcanism and plasma interactions with Jupiter's atmosphere were also recorded. The data Galileo collected supported the theory of a liquid ocean under the icy surface of Europa, and there were indications of similar liquid-saltwater layers under the surfaces of Ganymede and Callisto. Ganymede was shown to possess a magnetic field and the spacecraft found new evidence for exospheres around Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.Galileo also discovered that Jupiter's faint ring system consists of dust from impacts on the four small inner moons. The extent and structure of Jupiter's magnetosphere was also mapped.


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