An unmanned spacecraft called Galileo named after the
Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, was sent to study the planet Jupiter and
its moons and other planets in the Solar System.
It was launched by the Space Shuttle Atlantis on October 18,
1989. The probe consisted of an orbiter and an entry probe.
Assisted by the gravitational pull of Venus and Earth,
Galileo arrived at Jupiter on December 7, 1995, and became the first spacecraft
to orbit Jupiter.
The spacecraft then launched the first probe into Jupiter,
and was able to directly to measure its atmosphere for the first time.
Even though it suffered some major antenna problems, Galileo
studied the asteroid flyby of 951
Gaspra, and discovered the first asteroid moon, Dactyl, around 243 Ida.
In 1994, Galileo also observed the Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9's
collision with Jupiter.
Jupiter's atmospheric composition and ammonia clouds were
also studied where it was found the clouds were 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 gathered supported the theory
of a liquid ocean under the icy surface of Europa, and there were evidences 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 indications for exospheres around Europa, Ganymede, and
Callisto.
Galileo also revealed that Jupiter's faint ring system
comprises of dust from impacts on the four small inner moons. The extent and
structure of Jupiter's magnetosphere was also charted.
After 14 years in space and 8 years in the Jovian system,
Galileo's mission was completed by sending it into Jupiter's atmosphere at a
speed of over 48 kilometers per second (30 mi/s), eradicating the possibility
of contaminating Jupiter’s moons with our terrestrial bacteria. This mission
was terminated on September 21, 2003
(This summary of Galileo’s mission to Jupiter was sourced
from Wikipedia search)
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