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Mission to Jupiter

Galileo

While its aim was to study Jupiter and its mysterious moons, which it did with much success, NASA's Galileo mission also became notable for discoveries during its journey to the gas giant.

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Galileo foreground

Mission Statistics

Launch Date

Oct. 18, 1989

Type

Orbiter

Target

Europa, Jupiter

Status

Past

About the mission

While its aim was to study Jupiter and its mysterious moons, which it did with much success, NASA's Galileo mission also became notable for discoveries during its journey to the gas giant. It was the first spacecraft to visit an asteroid -- two in fact, Gaspra and Ida. Galileo provided the only direct observations of a comet colliding with a planet. And its flight past Venus in 1990 yielded fascinating infrared images of the planet's clouds.

After discoveries including evidence for the existence of a saltwater ocean beneath the Jovian moon Europa's icy surface, extensive volcanic processes on the moon Io and a magnetic field generated by the moon Ganymede, Galileo plunged into Jupiter's atmosphere on September 21, 2003 to prevent an unwanted impact with Europa.

Instruments

  • Solid-state imaging camera
  • Near-infrared mapping spectrometer
  • Ultraviolet spectrometer
  • Photopolarimeter radiometer
  • Magnetometer
  • Energetic particles detector
  • Plasma wave spectrometer
  • Dust detector
  • Heavy ion counter
  • Helium abundance detector
  • Atmospheric structure instrument
  • Neutral mass spectrometer
  • Net flux radiometer
  • Lightning and radio emission detector
  • Nephelometer

Mission Highlights

Oct. 18, 1989

Launch

The Galileo mission launched on October 18, 1989, from the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Nov. 16, 1995

Arrival at Jupiter

The orbiter arrived in the Jovian system on December 7, 1995.

Sept. 21, 2003

Galileo plunged into Jupiter's atmosphere on September 21, 2003 to prevent an unwanted impact with Europa.
Jupiter
Galileo

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› Mission Website
› Fact Sheet
› Press Kit
› Why We Explore

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