Galileo Mission Status - Novmeber 25, 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
NASA's Galileo spacecraft continues to transmit to Earth pictures and other scientific information recorded on its reel-to-reel tape recorder during the latest Europa encounter, which occurred earlier this month.
This collection of transmitted information was recorded during seven consecutive days and includes observations made by all of Galileo's instruments. There are observations of Jupiter's rings, traces of lightning in the Jovian atmosphere, and the planet's brown barge features, which appear to have an unusual chemical composition. A series of observations will help scientists assemble a time-lapse history of aurora near Jupiter's north pole.
Pictures are being sent of Jupiter's moon Io, including a full disk view of the fiery satellite. Other Io views were taken while it was eclipsed from the Sun by Jupiter, a position which makes it easier to view thermal hot spots and volcanic plumes. Images also include six of Io's volcanic regions -- Cullann, Volund, Marduk, Pillan, Kanehikili and Loki.
Several new pictures are being transmitted of four of Jupiter's minor moons -- Thebis, Adrastea, Metis and Amalthea. These latest images should help scientists more clearly define the shapes of the four satellites.
During the recent Europa flyby, Galileo's fields and particles instruments observed the icy moon's interactions with Jupiter's magnetosphere. That data has just completed transmission to Earth.
This Wednesday, Nov. 26, Galileo reaches the current orbit's farthest point from Jupiter, known as apojove, and transmission of data is interrupted briefly while spacecraft navigators make minor adjustments to Galileo's orbit path. After apojove, the spacecraft begins heading back toward Jupiter to prepare for the next Europa encounter. That encounter on Dec. 16 will be the first flyby of the Galileo Europa Mission (GEM), a two-year extension to the spacecraft's primary mission. GEM will include eight Europa flybys, four of Callisto, and one or two of Io, as long as the spacecraft remains healthy. The Dec. 16 Europa encounter will be the closest ever to be performed by Galileo, with the spacecraft dipping to 200 kilometers (124 miles) above Europa's surface.
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