Galileo Mission Status - August 15, 1997
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE JET PROPULSION LABORATORY CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011 http://www.jpl.nasa.gov
Galileo has spent a full week transmitting to Earth data stored on the spacecraft's onboard tape recorder. Data sent has included observations of Jupiter's magnetic fields and auroras made during the outbound portion of the current orbit, with data recordings offering frequent readings. This current campaign of magnetotail observations allows for study of the middle and outer areas of the Jovian magnetosphere regions by the science investigators for instruments that study magnetic fields and charged particles. The instruments will study the Jovian magnetic field, electric currents and flow patterns of the particles and plasma contained within.
An auroral map taken by Galileo's near infrared mapping spectrometer is also being transmitted to Earth this week. The map, taken at nearly the same time as some of the fields and particles data, will help scientists determine the connection between the two.
Last Thursday, the spacecraft passed through apojove of its current orbit, which marked its farthest point from Jupiter. This orbit was specifically designed for deep penetration into the magnetotail region of Jupiter's magnetosphere; Galileo reached a distance of 143 Jupiter radii, or just over 10 million kilometers (about 6 million miles).
After successfully completing an orbit trim maneuver last Friday, Galileo is now en route to its next encounter, a flyby of Callisto on September 16.
The Galileo spacecraft arrived in Jupiter orbit on December 7, 1995. Its primary mission will end on December 7 of this year following data return from its 10th and final encounter of its primary mission, a flyby of Europa on November 6. An extended mission will continue for two additional years so the spacecraft can conduct an intensive study of Europa, with the goal of achieving one or two close flybys of Io, depending on spacecraft health, in the fall of 1999.
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