Galileo
Liftoff
October 18, 1989
Mission Ended
September 21, 2003
Mission Info
Galileo orbited Jupiter for almost 8 years and made close passes by all of its major moons. Data collected show that Jupiter’s icy moon Europa probably has a subsurface ocean with more water than the total amount found on Earth. Also, that the volcanoes of the moon Io repeatedly and rapidly resurface the little world. Galileo carried a small probe that it deployed and sent deep into the atmosphere of Jupiter, taking readings for 57 minutes before the atmospheric heat and pressure destroyed it.
Key Facts
Launch Vehicle
Atlantis
Launch Site
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
First flyby and imaging of an asteroid (Gaspra, and later, Ida)
First, and so far only, direct observation of a comet colliding with a planet's atmosphere (Shoemaker-Levy 9).
Mission Images
