Galileo mission

Fig. 10. The 800 x 800 pixel scientific CCD specifically designed for the Galileo mission to Jupiter. The devices are shown in wafer form after initial...

Before data from the Galileo mission became available, the interior structure of the moon was still basically unknown. Hie data obtained during two encounters of the probe with Europa (E4 and E6) on December 19, 1996, and February 20, 1997 (Anderson et al., 1997), indicated the presence of an inner core with a density of 4,000 kg/m3. This could be a metal core with a radius of about 40% of that of the moon, surrounded by a rock mantle with a density of 3,000-3,500 kg/m3. Two further approaches of the probe to Europa made refinement of the model possible (Anderson et al., 1998), and they concluded that the moon s interior may consist of a mixture of silicates and metals. If the moon does in fact have a metallic core, estimation of its diameter is not possible because of its unknown composition. 

Other applications of inorganic mass spectrometry in planetary sciences were reviewed by de Laeter, including the analysis of the planets Mars (Viking spacecraft mission), Venus (Pioneer mission) and Jupiter (Galileo mission), where small molecules were discovered on the planets, and extraterrestrial materials from comets, Moon and meteorites.32... 

What are the deep abundances of key elements in the giant planets In spite of the Galileo mission, we do not know the deep oxygen abundance in Jupiter, which can help constrain formation models for the giant planets. Deep abundances in the other giant planets are even more poorly constrained. 

The United States has launched nine spacecraft in the direction of Venus. Three of these were part of the Mariner series (2, 5, and 10) and two were part of the Pioneer Venus program in 1978. Two more were part of the Vega series, in which balloons were dropped into the planet s atmosphere. Another was the Magellan spacecraft of 1989-90, and the last one was part of the Galileo mission of the same period. 

Amalthea is one of the four small moons inside the orbit of lo. Galileo visited it during its last orbit before falling into the Jovian atmosphere. Source Jet Propulsion Laboratory, "Galileo Mission to Jupiter/ online at http // www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/fact sheets/galileo.pdf... 

The general appearance of Io s surface also appears to have changed rather dramatically between the Voyager 2 and Galileo missions. Scientists have determined that one reason for these changes... 

Harland, David M. Jupiter Odyssey The Story of NASA s Galileo Mission. Berlin Springer-Verlag Telos, 2000. 

The Galileo mission to Jupiter and beyond obtained nearly 5 of the required 9 kilometers per second delta-v from one flyby of Venus and two flybys of Earth. This is only slighdy higher than the delta-v required to reach lunar orbit. 

Infrared spectra from NASA s Galileo mission show distinct absorptions on Jupiter s moon Europa that have been attributed to one or more sulfuric acid hydrates. Sulfuric acid in solution with water causes significant freezing-point depression of water s melting point, down to 210 K, and this would make more likely the existence of liquid solutions beneath Europa s icy crust.The interpretation of the spectra is somewhat controversial. Some planetary scientists prefer to assign the spectral features to the sulfate ion, perhaps as part of one or more minerals on Europa s surface. 

Johnson, T. (2000). The Galileo Mission to Jupiter and its moons. Scientific American, 282,40-9. 

Russell, C. T. ed. (1992). The Galileo Mission. Reprinted from Space Science Reviews, Vol. 60/1-4, Dordrecht Kluwer Academic Pnblishers. 

Fig. 4.1 The Jupiter satellite lo due to tidal heating the body with the most active volcanism in the Solar System. Courtesy NASA/Galileo mission, JPL...

Fig. 4.3 Surface features on Europa. Courtesy NASA/Galileo mission, JPL...

Recent data of Galileo mission to Jovian System. 1997, JPL bulletins. 

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