Galileo Arrival at Jupiter JPL et Propulsion Laborato Cana nate Teemnaogy Join us as we start on a voyage of discovery. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Curriculum Guide: A detailed supplement of activities and facts about Galileo and Jupiter, Contaet IPT. for information, Teaching Resource Centers (TRC): The Jet Propulsion Laboratory TRC supplies booklets, lithograph pictures, posters, videotapes and curriculum materials. Printed materials are free; videotapes may be obtained in exchange for a name brand VHS cassette still sealed in the original wrapper. urther information, contact Teaching Resource Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Mail Stop CS-530, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109-8099, (818) 354-6016, A'TRC may be located near you; cheek with your nearest NASA center for further information Computer Resourees: Images and fact sheets from many JPL projects (including Galileo) are available via modem at (BL 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, up to 14,400 haud), or, using the internet, at ftp,iplnasa. gov; log in as "anonymous," and send your user ID as.a password). "Some Internet service providers offer reduced rates for students and educators; eontact a local serviee to find out if they provide educational diseounts. Galileo Messenger: The offial communication of the Project. Handeopy subscriptions arv available at no cast through Projo Galileo, JPL, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 81108, oF lok at the Messenger on Galileos World Wide Web page World Wide Web: Check the Galileo Home page (http://w jplina JPL. Home Page (http:/Avww.jpl-nasa.govsindex html) a.gov:80/galilea/index html) and theThe Two Galileos Almost four hundred years ago, Italian scientist Galileo Galilei looked through his telescope at the planet Jupiter and "perceived....that, beside the planet there were three starlets, small indeed, but very bright..." Eventually, Galileo would discover a total of four moons, unknown before the invention of the telescope, orbiting around Jupiter—a discovery that would eventually change how humanity viewed the heavens. We've come a long way from Galileo's primitive telescope. ‘The interplanetary explorer Galileo, shown below, will conduct nineteen investigations using the spaceeraft's radio system and many different scientific instruments (seven of which will drop into Jupiter's atmosphere on the probe). Galileo will orbit in the Jovian system for two years, gathering data and taking pictures that can detect objects as small as 12 meters (39 fect). Compare this with Mr. Galilei's view: his robotic namesake's observations improve on his by factors up to 100,000 to 1,000,000! gar os iar oermtne! Sgincniene STPlaying Cosmic Billiards (or, How to Char One of the first things taught in geometry is that "the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.” But in the case of Project Galileo, an interplanetary spacecraft bound for Jupiter, the most efficient path is a six- year journey that initially heads towards Venus instead of Jupiter. Galileo is currently on the last leg of a flight path that has included one close flyby of Venus and two close flybys of Earth. Each of these flybys allowed the spacecraft to use the planet's gravity to accelerate Galileo to greater speeds, rather like a slingshot. The exact flight path depends on how close Galileo flies to the planet, so navigation engineers work like expert billiard players, carefully lining up each maneuver and encounter so that Galileo arrives right on target. Without the boost rovided by these flybys, Galileo would need an extra 10,900 | ? kilograms of propellant—about twelve times more than was on | VENUS “FEB 10,1900 board at launch, j Having accomplished the three planetary flybys, Galileo is right on | schedule to reach Jupiter on December 7, 1995. Along the way, | there have been opportunities to observe two asteroids; these | pictures and other scientific information are the first close-up views | we have had of these ancient remnants of the primordial solar system, \ Close flybys and gravity assists will also be used to enable Galileo to make a complex tour of Jupiter's system. An additional 3,600 kilograms of propellant (about four times the total amount of | . ar propellant on the spacecraft at launch) would be needed to fly the tour {= (A" AUG 28, 1993 without the billiards-like gravity assist technique. What Type of Rocket Propellant Does Galileo Use? Galileo's fuel tanks can't just be filed up at the local gas station, as the engines use ‘monomethyl hydrazine for fuel, Fuel has to be oxidized (burned) in order to ignite; we don't have to worry about this on Earth, where we are surrounded by an atmosphere containing ‘oxygen, but an interplanetary spacecraft like Galleo has to carry its own oxidizer (Galileo uses nitrogen tetroxide). Instead of pumps, the spacecraft uses two separate tanks of helium pressurant that force the fuel and oxidizer together into the combustion chamber \ These two liquids are stored at about room temperature onthe spacecraft. One valuable Jupiter property of these liquids is that they bum on contact witn each other, eliminating (duly, 1904) Complicated ignition systems (such as spark plugs; Galileo doesn't have access to a ‘mechanic for regularly scheduled tune-ups!) 2 How “Fuel-Efficient” If Galileo had to fy to Jupiter (and then fly around the Jovian system for wo years) without being able to use gravity Bssists, the spacecraft’s propellant tanks would have to. hold at least ‘sxteen times more propellant! (Although the tanks on the right spacecraft dont look sixteen tes larger than the tanks on the left spacecraf. they will hold Sixtoen times. more propellant, since With Gravity Assist Without Gravity Assist volume is proportional to radius cubed)age a Spacecraft's Speed and Direction) END OF MISSION IEC 7, 1997 ‘COMET SL-9 IMPACT OBSERVATIONS. JUL 1994 Foagent W rc (a 2,986) / ARRIVAL ! DEC 7, 1995 PROBE RELEASEIo: A Volcanic Puzzle This Voyager picture of an eruption of the volcano Prometheus was processed to ‘show detail both on the surface of lo and in the faint plume (extending above the ‘moon's surface). Scientists estimate that the eruption rushes out of the vent at a velocity of about 1/2 km (0.3 mi) per second. The plume reaches an attitude of about 50 km (30 mi), spreading out over a ciameter of about 300 km (190 mi). On December 7, 1995, Galileo will have its ‘one and only’ opportunity for a close ‘encounter with Jupiter's Moon To, the most voleanically active body in the solar system. To looks remarkably different from any other moon in the Solar System, let alone any of Jupiter's other moons: there's nothing else in the solar system that looks like a planet-sized pepperoni pizza! Like our own Moon, some of Jupiter's 16 ‘known moons are ‘covered with impact craters, showing where meteorites smashed into the surface. But To is covered with hundreds of volcanic eraters which continually spew forth material, resurfacing the entire moon every ‘century. Some of this material escapes from Io's atmosphere or surface and gets caught up in Jupiter's powerful magnetic field, forming a gigantic donut-shaped collection of particles orbiting around Jupiter, known as the To Plasma Torus. Io's fireworks are triggered by its tidal interactions with Jupiter and two of Jupiter's other moons (see sidebar). ‘The distinetive yellow-orange colar of the surface comes from sulfur (although To looks like a pizza, it would smell like a rotten egg). How did Io's volcanoes evolve and what is their chemical composition? How frequently do they erupt? Ts To's crust thick or thin (still sounds like a pizzal), and what does that imply for all the volcanic activity? Scientists hope to use Galileo's observations to answer these and other questions. If lo is so interesting, then why is the spaceerat limited to one close flyby? Unfortunately, Io lies deep within Jupiter's radiation belts, and intene radiation environments are hazardous for spacecraft electronics. The orbiter cannot withstand a second pass through the harsh Jovian radiation environment at the orbit of [o without shortening the two-year mission lifetime. One elose pass, skimming a mere 1,000 km (600 miles) over Io's surface, is needed so that the gravitational attraction of Io will slow the orbiter—the fourth gravity assist of the mission! This makes it possible for the spacecraft to enter orbit around Jupiter while using as little propellant as possible (Galileo uses its main engine as a brake, so braking uses up propellant that could be used for turning the spacecraft to point its communications antenna towards Barth, and for a turn that will help position the spacecraft's eameras) Wolcanoes on Io ana Barth: A Tale of Two leat Sources lo and Earth are two rocky solar system bodies that have volcanic activity. In both cases, the warm interior spurts up through weak chinks in the surface crust. But are lo Jand the Earth heated by the same process? No. Earth's internal heat comes from the decay of radioactive elements, Small bodies like lo cannot retain enough heat from radioactive elements long enough to produce volcanoes today. o's insides are heated instead by a tidal interaction process between lo, Jupiter, and two other moons of Jupiter named Ganymede an Europa Because Ganymede and Europa gravitationally tug on lo, 1o's orbit around Jupiter is not perfectly circular. The resulting tidal tug on fo by Jupiter actually distorts fo's shape, which in turn heats lo's interior by “frictional dissipation" (to see this, try bending a piece of wire back and Horth, and feel how it heats up), Jupiter itself also has a warm interior [caused by “leftover” heat from its formation, Since Jupiter is mainly liquid and gas, the warm interior can move upwards towards the surface without volcanic activity,Danger: High Radiation Levels Ahead! December 7, 1995 will be a momentous day in the history of space exploration. Galileo's atmaspherie Probe will plunge into Jupite’s atmosphere, relaying information about the chemical makeup and stricture ofthe largest planet in the solar systom. Barlier in the day, the Galileo Orbiter will skim over the voleanic moon To, snapping pictures of unprecedented resolution. ‘The day ends with Galileo settling into orbit in the Jovian system, its permanent ‘home and laboratory until December of 1997, Galileo's engincors will hold their breath, waiting to hear that Galileo’ big engine has done its job and sent the spacoeraft into orbit around Jupiter. ‘They also be concerned about the spaccerafts health, since Galileo will spend part of the day deep within Jupiter's radiation belts (similar to Earth's Van Allen belts) But one group of scientists will be happily watching as, ‘passing To, Galileo travels through radiation strong enough to n. Space scientists study this radiation, which is made up of charged partiles traveling at high speed which ‘bombard anything in their paths like micrascopie BBs. Amazingly, volcanoes on Io provide the ionized material that fills the so-alled To Plasma Torus (se ilustration below and Jo A Voleanic Puzale), The torus is one small part of Jupiter's “maggetcaphere,” the volume of space influenced by Jupiter's ‘magnetic field, ‘So, just as scientists use the Probe to help them understand Jupiter’s weather, they ako use the orbiter’ ‘measurements of the area around To to bet understand all of Jupiter's magnetic environment Sinko os Pa Tens” ‘App sed bape? Adon wh spits? No san arts vero eb Pasa Tous don shped ana lod win charged patcks saurdg upterGales hl ok be spactera vcugh sain. Coming Attractions During those two years, the spaceeraft will experience ‘en more elose encounters with Jupiter's moons Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, using each flyby as a gravitational slingshot to the next encounter, This “tour" will take Galileo on a flower-petal-shaped eleven- orbit trek through the Jovian system, including a long trek down Jupiter's magnetic fold "tail’, giving us our first comprehensive view of Jupiter, ‘its 16 known satellites, and its monstrous magnetie field, a io Encounter | so! Patho Spacscratat rival Oscmbe7. 198) What's the big deal about Jupiter's Magnetic Field? ‘Barth has a modest magnetic field which wo dont think about much (unless you're last in the woods with a compass) Tupiter, however, has a magnotic field so Inge that it dwaeis the Sun itself Astronomers: deal with even larger and stronger. magnetic fields, ike those at the center of our galaxy. ‘Things really get interesting when charged particles like ians and electrons start whizzing around in the magnetic field (for example, Barth's Norther Lights), There isa ready supply of charged partides (known a8 a "plasma’) from To; maybe as much as one ton of pauticles per second ! The plasma gets ‘trapped by Jupiter's magnetic feld, and initially stays near fis ‘orbit; this is why the material has bagel-shaped distribution ‘The interactions between plasma and magnetic fields are ‘complex. Its the job ofthe fields and particles instruments to ‘explore Jupiter's magnetic field and plasma so that we ean understand how they Bit together. Gals Evo re Tok cn torWhy Do We Need A Probe To Study Jupiter's Atmosphere? In 1610, Galileo Galilei used a small telescope to view Jupiter, and discovered that it had four major satellites, At that timo, people did not know what planets really wero, and it was assumed that Jupiter was a “wandering” star Now, we know that Jupiter is another planet which may help us to understand how the solar system, and our own planet, formed and evolved. Starting in 1979, four different spacecraft. have studied Jupiter's atmosphere (Pioneer 10 in 1973, Pioneer 11 in 1074, Voyager 1 and 2 in 1979), But these pictures only whetted scientists’ appetites for better, higher-resolution images that could show smaller details, And pictures couldn't answer many questions: what lies under the ammonia clouds that we see—are there water clouds at lower elevations? Why are the clouds yellow—do they contain phosphorus, sulfur, or some other compound? What is the exact chemical composition of Jupiter's atmosphere? ‘To what depth do Jupiter's winds exist? Is Jupiter's lightning caused by the same processes that produce lightning here on Earth? How does the temperature change at different altitudes? For all of these questions, scientists and ‘engineers were convineed of the need for direct measurements from within the atmosphere. ‘The Galileo Probe is by no means the first spacecraft to directly sample another planet's atmosphere, ‘The 1977 Pioneer Venus mission used several probes to measure Venusian atmospheric temperature and pressure, locate ‘major cloud decks, and analyze the chemistry of atmospherie gases. Tn addition, unmanned landers had been used to investigate the atmosphere with great success on Mars (the Viking mission), and briefly on Venus (a Soviet mission). ‘The Probe will enter Jupiter's atmosphere at a relative speed of over 47 kilometers per second (or 170,000 kilometers per hour, the fastest impact speed of any man made object ever). A heat shield protects the Probe's scientific instruments during deceleration, after which a parachute deploys to ensure a slow, controlled descent. Gatiieors Probe: Path of Probe 2: December 7, 1995 Exploring the TaD eles Nenceptire Skin of the Onion Rites Febeell rerlbonen a te Paka eee Bee re Gn ed br sek aa ore to Soe he oy fo teentls ‘exploring an onion by drilling through Perr . ieee eo ae —anocue prac * 2 Ca RTS ay a ederim por ae Se Be ee ore _ oven : staucanaagaezizeng | le hy das Ft ne a ent oe Ce ee eicariR Oa )sexromnooncrscr || Seater ce ee wesl pumas rag, | Eien acre Le falreest ein ado a Henres Sey ments ex ore oes Betis al ts epee Te or oe ee seats hcrmip me oa Lr oe, mee feorentrs Jo cnet oe <¢ — PROBE ENTAY (450 km, 5X 109 bar,-8°C, 0 min)Jupiter's Atmosphere Brothers and sisters share many characteristies. Even though Earth and Jupiter differ in many ways, as "siblings" in the Solar System they share surprising characteristies when examined closely. Galileo's observations of Jupiter will help us to better understand these atmospheric differences and similarities. The Big Picture: Differences Between Earth and Jupiter Jupiter's diameter is more than eleven times the diameter of Earth. It spins about two and a half times faster (a day on Jupiter lasts only 9 hours and 48 minutes!), and, unlike Earth, has an internal energy source that releases almost twice the amount of energy as it gets from the Sun. ‘These differences are reflected in the visual appearances of the two planets, On Barth, the cloud patterns near the equator are dominated by spiral-shaped storms (whose centers are low pressure areas at sea level). On Jupiter, the basic pattern is stripes: darker belts that are descending in Jupiter's atmosphere, and brighter but more cloudy zones which are rising up. The Great Red Spot ‘The Great Red Spot appears to be a gigantic storm system similar to hurricanes on Earth. The 12,000 by 25,000 km Spot, big enough to hold two Earths, may be just the top of the storm, a rising mass of gas that is bringing up Ovals, Barges, and Plumes Other local features on Jupiter, such as the descriptively named white ovals, brown barges, and white plumes, may teach us much about atmospheric dynamics and cloud physics and composition. The plumes could be cirrus anvil- material from Jupiter's depths Unlike Earth storms, Jupiter's storms can last a Jong time: the Great Red Spot is at least 800 years old! shaped clouds arising from the rapid upwelling of wet air, much like similarly shaped clouds seen on Earth. The brown barges are holes in the clouds through whieh measurements can be made to relatively great depths. Features of this sort are not rare on Jupiter and have an average lifetime of one to two years, nen te en eesti tet ete caret Setar) The anticyclonic storms called white ovals may last far longer; some first appeared in 1938! eos faut. Cross-Section of Jupiter. Inset shows depth reached by Probe The Great Comet Crash ‘The impact of Comet Shoemaker-Levy-9 eft small particles of dust high in the atmosphere above the impact sites. How high?’ How small? How long will they remain suspended in there? Galileo will examine these areas to find out. Jupiter is roughly 90% hydrogen (compare this with Earth's atmosphere, which has about .00005% hydrogen gas).