Last Gasp for Galileo Mission to Jupiter
Thursday, September 18, 2003
(8:22 AM ET)
The Associated Press
Galileo has orbited Jupiter since 1995, studying the planet and its posse of quirky moons. NASA extended the mission three times. Galileo is now low on the propellant needed to trim its course and point its antenna toward Earth.
** FILE PHOTO **
The spacecraft Galileo is shown being readied at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., in this 1989 file photo. The aging spacecraft is on track to conclude its 14-year, $1.5 billion exploration of Jupiter and its moons on Sunday with a streaking suicide plunge into the planet's turbulent atmosphere. (AP Photo/NASA, File)
Image Credit: AP / NASA
PASADENA, Calif. -- AP
NASA scientists said they hope to wring a final few hours of work from the doomed Galileo spacecraft before it plunges into Jupiter this weekend.
Galileo will end its 14-year mission by diving into the turbulent atmosphere of the solar system's largest planet around 1 p.m. on Sunday. Friction will vaporize the spacecraft, which will be traveling at nearly 108,000 mph.
In the hours before impact, scientists expect Galileo to transmit the final scientific measurements of its mission.
``We expect to be collecting science data all the way in,'' Claudia Alexander, manager of the $1.5 billion project, said Wednesday.
On tap are observations that may confirm the presence of a ring of chunky material circling Jupiter at the orbit of Amalthea, a bright red, inner moon.
A swoop past the moon that Galileo made in November suggested the presence of such a ring.
However, it is unclear whether NASA will succeed in squeezing final data from Galileo.
On previous close brushes with Jupiter, the planet's intense radiation forced the spacecraft to enter standby mode and await further commands from Earth.
There will be no time for such commands to be sent on Sunday.
(More: Netscape Network News)
2003 © The Associated Press.
On the Net:
* JPL.NASA.gov/Galileo/
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