Astronomy Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Astronomy - Term Paper Example Moreover, the discovery by these spacecrafts of Jupiter’s gravity changing as well as the decrease in the number of volcanic eruptions in Io, a moon of Jupiter, led scientists to be more interested in an in-depth Jupiter exploration. Therefore, the Galileo mission was devised, whereby not only would the spacecraft orbit Jupiter, studying its environment in great detail, but it would also carry a probe that would be launched into Jupiter’s clouds and collect data. About eight hundred people worked on the Galileo mission, as per NASA’s statistics. The Galileo arrived at Jupiter approximately six years later on 7th December 1995. The spacecraft was 17 feet high, with a magnetometer boom that extended 36 feet to one side. It weighed a total of 2,223 kilograms, inclusive of the 118 kilograms of scientific instruments and 925 kilograms of propellants. The scientific instruments it carried, as listed in NASA’s website about the spacecraft, included a solid-state imaging camera, a near-infrared mapping spectrometer, an ultraviolet spectrometer, a photopolarimeter radiometer, a magnetometer, an energetic particles detector, a plasma investigation, a plasma wave subsystem, a dust detector and a heavy ion counter. The atmospheric probe that was to be launched in the atmosphere of Jupiter was 50 inches in diameter and 36 inches tall, and weighed 339 kilograms. It is noteworthy that the Galileo did not carry enough fuel for it to be able to fly directly to Jupiter; therefore, the scientists devised a technique whereby the spacecraft would be able to borrow energy from Earth as well as Venus to enable it to reach Jupiter. The flight path that was devised was named â€Å"VEEGA† – Venus-Earth-Earth Gravity Assist. The spacecraft was to be slingshot into gathering enough momentum to be able to reach Jupiter. It was a pioneering method and it was successful. The Galileo not only made new discoveries with regards to Jupiter and