Spacecraft Galileo at Jupiter

Spacecraft Galileo is at Jupiter!

there's a feisty little spacecraft called GALILEO exploring the giant planet Jupiter RIGHT NOW?!

As we sit here, Spacecraft Galileo is soaring

Past Jupiter and its big moons,

At thousands of miles per hour

Taking lots of pictures and

Learning all about these strange worlds

To tell us back here on Earth!

But just who is Spacecraft Galileo?

Galileo is a very special orbiting spacecraft, built at the Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) in California, just like Mars Pathfinder and its rover, Sojourner, who are at Mars now. Galileo
poses with Sojourner

Galileo is on its way! But while Pathfinder left for Mars just a few years ago, Galileo left Earth way back in 1989! And Galileo didn't arrive at Jupiter until December of 1995. What was Spacecraft Galileo doing in space for those six years?

Find out by reading Galileo's six-year Journey to Jupiter, which tells how Galileo had to take the "long way" to Jupiter to save fuel, but how it ended up having lots of adventures along the way.

Spacecraft Galileo has had a very successful mission, but the little spacecraft was not without its problems. One *serious* problem was with its big antenna. The big antenna was stowed away for launch, and it wasn't until Galileo was in space that it discovered ... well, you should read the WHOLE story at Galileo's Greatest Challenge, and see how Galileo and its support crew conquered their worst nightmare. Galileo struggles with its antenna

Galileo and the Probe catch sight of
Jupiter and moons Europa and Io After six years of adventures and scary equipment problems, Galileo reached Jupiter! Now Galileo had to allow itself to be caught in Jupiter's gravity pull, not an easy feat! Galileo's riding companion, the Probe, shot into Jupiter to send back information about the clouds there. Would Galileo start orbiting Jupiter, as planned? What would the Probe find? What's it like to orbit a giant planet like Jupiter and skim past its strange moons for two years? Find out at Galileo meets Jupiter and the Moons.

Spacecraft Galileo RIGHT NOW is zooming around and round past Jupiter's strange moons Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. The main mission is over, but the little spacecraft is doing so well, its mission has been extended! For two more years, Galileo will take many pictures of Europa, so we can see more of its frozen surface. Europa may have life under its icy crust! And Galileo still wants to take pictures of Io after that. Galileo swoops toward Ganymede at full speed

~ ~ Go, Galileo, go!! ~ ~

Galileo's Six-Year Journey
Galileo's Greatest Challenge
Galileo Meets Jupiter and the Moons

Go, Galileo, GO!

Story and Illustrations by Sue Kientz,
with help from NASA images and drawings

Galileo also speaks other languages!

Raumsonde Galileo bei Jupiter
Adventures of Spacecraft Galileo in German, translated by Wolfram Patzl

Adventures of Spacecraft Galileo in Japanese,
translated by Moriaki Kanai
(your computer must be able to view the Japanese character set)

La Nave Galileo en Júpiter,
Adventures of Spacecraft Galileo in Spanish, translated by Myriam M. Ruiz

La Sonde Galileo à Jupiter
Adventures of Spacecraft Galileo in French, translated by Myriam M. Ruiz and Edouard Schmidtlin

* * *

Thanks for visiting Spacecraft Galileo
[67,358 visitors - August 1997 to July 2005]

Galileo is a very special orbiting spacecraft, built at the Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) in California, just like Mars Pathfinder and its rover, Sojourner, who are at Mars now.

	But while Pathfinder left for Mars just a few years ago, Galileo left Earth way back in 1989! And Galileo didn't arrive at Jupiter until December of 1995. What was Spacecraft Galileo doing in space for those six years?
Find out by reading Galileo's six-year Journey to Jupiter, which tells how Galileo had to take the "long way" to Jupiter to save fuel, but how it ended up having lots of adventures along the way.

Spacecraft Galileo has had a very successful mission, but the little spacecraft was not without its problems. One serious problem was with its big antenna. The big antenna was stowed away for launch, and it wasn't until Galileo was in space that it discovered ... well, you should read the WHOLE story at Galileo's Greatest Challenge, and see how Galileo and its support crew conquered their worst nightmare.

	After six years of adventures and scary equipment problems, Galileo reached Jupiter! Now Galileo had to allow itself to be caught in Jupiter's gravity pull, not an easy feat! Galileo's riding companion, the Probe, shot into Jupiter to send back information about the clouds there. Would Galileo start orbiting Jupiter, as planned? What would the Probe find? What's it like to orbit a giant planet like Jupiter and skim past its strange moons for two years? Find out at Galileo meets Jupiter and the Moons.

Spacecraft Galileo RIGHT NOW is zooming around and round past Jupiter's strange moons Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. The main mission is over, but the little spacecraft is doing so well, its mission has been extended! For two more years, Galileo will take many pictures of Europa, so we can see more of its frozen surface. Europa may have life under its icy crust! And Galileo still wants to take pictures of Io after that.

~ ~ Go, Galileo, go!! ~ ~