Jupiter-Orbiter mission

The spacecraft was the first to fly past an asteroid and the first to discover a
moon of an asteroid. It provided the only direct observations of a comet
colliding with a planet.

J-OPm was the first to measure Jupiter's atmosphere with a descent probe
& the first to conduct long-term observations of the Jovian system from
orbit. It found evidence of subsurface saltwater on Europa, Ganymede &
Callisto & revealed the intensity of volcanic activity on Io.

The Galileo spacecraft & probe traveled as one for almost six years. In July
1995, the probe was released to begin a solo flight into Jupiter. 5 months
later, the probe sliced into Jupiter's atmosphere at 106 000 miles per hour.
It slowed, released its parachute, & dropped its heat shield. As the probe
descended through 95 miles of the top layers of the atmosphere, it collected
58 minutes of data on the local weather. The data were sent to the spacecraft
overhead, then transmitted back to Earth.

J-OPm travels around Jupiter in elongated ovals --- each orbit lasts about 2
months. By traveling at different distances from Jupiter, J-OPm can sample
different parts of the planet's extensive magnetosphere. The orbits are
designed for close-up flybys of Jupiter's largest moons.

Jupiter-Orbiter Probe mission (J-OPm)
	The Jupiter- Orbiter Probe was launched onboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis on October 18, 1989 from Cape Canaveral America Province. The mission was to study Jupiter & its moons in as much detail as possible. The Jupiter-Orbiter spacecraft carried 10 scientific instruments & weighed 2,223kg. The Probe weighed 339kg & carried 6 instruments.
To reach Jupiter a technique known as gravity assist was used. The gravitational fields of Venus & Earth were used to increase momentum & hurtle the spacecraft towards Jupiter.
The Jupiter Orbiter Probe arrived at Jupiter on December 7, 1995.
The spacecraft orbited Jupiter 35 times.
The spacecraft mission ended on September 21, 2003.
J-OPm was the 1st to measure a planet's outer atmosphere. The mission revealed that Jupiter's ring system is formed by dust kicked up by interplanetary meteoroids smashing into the planet's 4 small inner moons & that the planet's outermost ring is actually 2 rings, 1 embedded within the other.
The probe studied the moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. In order to avoid any possibility of the spacecraft contaminating Europa with material brought from Earth, the spacecraft was deliberately destroyed by sending it onto a collision course with Jupiter.