This Week On Galileo
October 5 - 11, 1998
Galileo spends this week returning images taken by the spacecraft's camera during Galileo's most recent encounter with Jupiter's icy moon Europa. The images were stored on the spacecraft's onboard tape recorder during the encounter. Like all stored data, they will be read off the tape, processed, and packaged for transmission to Earth by the spacecraft's main computers. Data processing is interrupted once this week, on Wednesday, when the spacecraft performs regular maintenance on its propulsion systems.
The solid-state imaging subsystem (SSI), which is the spacecraft's camera, returns three sets of images (some in color) of the Agenor Linea region. Agenor Linea is extremely bright which is thought to indicate that it is relatively young. The two other image sets returned this week contain views of wedge-like features and of a poorly understood terrain type, known as dissected terrain. These features and terrains are considered to be evidence for the existence of a liquid ocean under Europa's surface.