Galileo (spacecraft)
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Galileo
Mission type
Jupiter orbiter
Operator
NASA (USA), Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (Germany)
COSPAR ID
1989-084B
SATCAT ?
20298
Website
www2.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/
Mission duration
14 years in space
8 years in Jovian orbit
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm
General Electric
Hughes Aircraft Company
Launch mass
2,380 kilograms (5,250 lb)
Probe: 339 kilograms (747 lb)
Power
Orbiter: 570 watts
Probe: 580 watts
Start of mission
Launch date
October 13, 1989, 16:53:40 (1989-10-13UTC16:53:40Z) UTC
Rocket
Space Shuttle Atlantis
STS-34 / IUS
Launch site
Kennedy Space Center LC-39B
Entered service
December 8, 1995
End of mission
Disposal
Deorbited
Decay date
September 21, 2003, 18:57:00 (2003-09-21UTC18:58Z) UTC
Orbital parameters
Reference system
Geocentric
Flyby of Venus (gravity assist)
Closest approach
February 10, 1990
Flyby of Earth (gravity assist)
Closest approach
December 8, 1990
Flyby of 7002951000000000000?(951) Gaspra (incidental)
Closest approach
October 29, 1991
Flyby of Earth (gravity assist)
Closest approach
December 8, 1992
Flyby of 7002243000000000000?(243) Ida (incidental)
Closest approach
August 28, 1993
Jupiter atmospheric probe
Spacecraft component
Probe
Atmospheric entry
December 7, 1995, 22:04 UTC
Operated for 57 minutes
Impact site
6.5°N, 4.4°W
at entry interface
Jupiter orbiter
Spacecraft component
Orbiter
Orbital insertion
December 8, 1995, 01:20:00 UTC
Galileo was an unmanned spacecraft which 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. The spacecraft was an international effort by the United States of America and the Federal Republic of Germany.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.On September 21, 2003, after 14 years in space and 8 years in the Jovian system, Galileo???'??s mission was terminated by sending the orbiter into Jupiter's atmosphere at a speed of over 48 kilometers (30 mi) per second, eliminating the possibility of contaminating local moons with terrestrial bacteria.On December 11, 2013, NASA reported, based on results from the Galileo mission, the detection of "clay-like minerals" (specifically, phyllosilicates), often associated with organic materials, on the icy crust of Europa, moon of Jupiter. The presence of the minerals may have been the result of a collision with an asteroid or comet according to the scientists.
^ a b c d Galileo Project
^ a b c d "Galileo End of Mission Press Kit" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-05-15.
^ a b Cook, Jia-Rui c. (December 11, 2013). "Clay-Like Minerals Found on Icy Crust of Europa". NASA. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
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