Galilean Satellites Orbiter
Launch Period: Postponed
Agency: NASA
The Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) has been cancelled. It was a proposed mission to orbit three of the Galilean satellites, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, which may have subsurface oceans and possibly the ingredients for life. The spacecraft will be launched by a conventional chemical rocket, but once in space will be driven by an ion propulsion system. The system consists of electric thrusters powered by a small nuclear reactor. Ions are propelled out the back of the craft to provide thrust. This system will also be used to place the spacecraft in close orbits about each of the three moons. The mission is still in the early planning stages but has four primary science goals related to the Jovian moons: Study their interior structure, the evolution and current state of their surface and subsurface, their habitability, and how the various components of the Jovian system operate and interact. Possible instrumentation includes a high resolution imager, high power radar systems, laser altimeter, and magnetic field, plasma, and radiation sensors.
Related Links:
› Archived JIMO News
› National Space Science Data Center Home Page
› Learn More About Jupiter
