The Galileo Mission

What is it? The Galileo was a spacecraft. It was the first Jupiter Orbiter and was sent in It is a NASA spacecraft mission to Jupiter in which many people contributed to. It was designed to study Jupiter’s atmosphere, moons, and the surrounding magnetosphere. The spacecraft was constructed into a couple of main parts: the atmospheric probe, and the orbiter.

The atmospheric probe (inside the foil) is a section of the orbiter carrying cameras and other remote sensors to study Jupiter’s atmosphere. The spinning main section of the orbiter spacecraft which includes the fields and particles instruments was designed to sense and measure the environment directly as the spacecraft flies through it. The spinning section also carries the main communications antenna, the propulsion module, flight computers and most support systems. v Rocket thrusters. Quite self-explanatory, the thrusters were only used to get The Galileo out of the Earth’s atmosphere.

Results from the atmospheric probe indicate that the make-up of the elements is very similar to that found in the Sun. This suggests that Jupiter's overall composition hasn’t changed since it was formed many years ago. The orbiter took numerous images of Jupiter and the moons Amalthea, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. Shortly after arrival in 1995 it observed the impact of the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9’s collision with Jupiter. What We Have Learned

One of the most exciting results is the evidence of a possible liquid water ocean below the surface of Europa. This is deduced from the cracks in the visible ice sheet which resemble the movement of pack ice on Earth. There is also some evidence for a salty ocean beneath the surface of Callisto. Liquid water oceans could be an ideal environment in which to search for life. The Galileo has the first “human” encounter with an asteroid. The Galileo passed by two asteroids, the first being Gaspra, and the other Ida. Galileo discovered that Ida had a small moon that was then named Dactyl.

Galileo is sadly out of commission. Galileo plunged into Jupiter's crushing atmosphere on Sept. 21, Once it’s fuel supply had nearly been depleted, the spacecraft was sent into deorbit so it would not the newly discovered, possible oceans beneath the icy crust of some of Jupiter’s moons, like Europa. Since Galileo is out of commission, 2 different space crafts had been sent to scrutinize the planet simultaneously; The Galileo Millennium, and the Cassini Spacecraft, which was made and sent to study Saturn, but passed by Jupiter on the way. Future Use

-We learned more about Jupiter and it’s moons. -We might observe the first signs of life somewhere else other than Earth; on the moons of Jupiter. -By studying Jupiter and other planets, we learn how other planets in different solar systems have been created. Benefits

Risks Projects like these take millions of dollars to fund. One miscalculation could result in the destruction of the spacecraft, and wasting all the money.

Sources and References: Information: "Galileo (spacecraft) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct "Galileo Spacecraft - Planet Jupiter Atmosphere." Space Projects - Space Information - Space Shop. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct Learning Team, ROG. "The Galileo Spacecraft Mission to Jupiter : Space exploration archive : Astronomy fact files : Astronomy & time : Explore online : RMG. " Royal Museums Greenwich: sea, ships, time and the stars : RMG. N.p., 15 Aug Web. 17 Oct NASA Database. "NASA - Cassini." NASA - Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct

Pictures Pictures: Photographer, Unknown. The Galileo Earth Background. N.d. Brittanica, Outside Earth's Atmosphere. Britannica. Web. 22 Oct Photographer, Unknown. The Galileo Spacecraft. N.d. Aero Space Guide, Outer Space. Aero Space Guide. Web. 22 Oct Unknown, Photographer. SpaceCraft. N.d. Freestock Photos, Nowhere. freestockphotos. Web. 22 Oct MLA formatting by BibMe.org.