Tim Furniss/LONDON
THE 340kg GALILEO probe plunged into the atmosphere of Jupiter on 7 December at a latitude of about 6¡N, and at an initial speed of 170,000km/h. It was the first man-made contact with the planet. The main spacecraft became the first to enter Jovian orbit.
NASA confirms that the probe transmitted data for 57min during the descent of about 640km (400 miles) into the Jovian atmosphere - 18min short of predictions. The probe is expected to have disintegrated under the intense pressure and high temperatures.
Atmospheric and chemical data from the probe's six on-board instruments could not be transmitted directly to the Earth via the main spacecraft's high-gain antenna. This had failed to unfurl properly early during the six-year, 3.7 billion kilometre, interplanetary voyage, which began with deployment in Earth orbit from the Space Shuttle Atlantis, STS34, in October 1989.
The data were instead recorded on the orbiter's tape recorder, which has also caused problems, and transmitted via a low-gain antenna to the Earth. Initial findings from the probe's exploration, were expected to be released by NASA, on 19 December (Flight International, 6-12 December). The Galileo orbiter's mission will be for a minimum of two years, and it will carry out 11 varying orbits. Scientists hope that it will return unprecedented views of the Jovian cloud tops and the major moons, particularly the volcanically active sulphurous moon, Io.
Source: Flight International
