Changes

==Extended Tour==

==Extended Tour==

Galileo's prime mission ended on December 7, 1997. With more to learn, and the spacecraft in good health, NASA approved a two-year study called "GEM" -- the Galileo Europa Mission. For fourteen more orbits, the spacecraft focused on ice, water, and fire: the icy moon Europa, which might have an ocean; Jupiter's thunderstorms; and the fiery volcanoes of Io.

Galileo's prime mission ended on December 7, 1997. With more to learn, and the spacecraft in good health, NASA approved a two-year study called "GEM"—the Galileo Europa Mission. For fourteen more orbits, the spacecraft focused on ice, water, and fire: the icy moon Europa, which might have an ocean; Jupiter's thunderstorms; and the fiery volcanoes of Io.

The spacecraft came so close to Europa that if there were something there the size of a school bus, Galileo would have detected it. The additional observations of Europa supported the theory that an ocean of water currently exists below the surface. NASA began considering plans for future missions to orbit Europa, and perhaps to send a lander.

The spacecraft came so close to Europa that if there were something there the size of a school bus, Galileo would have detected it. The additional observations of Europa supported the theory that an ocean of water currently exists below the surface. NASA began considering plans for future missions to orbit Europa, and perhaps to send a lander.

==End of mission==

==End of mission==

The Galileo spacecraft's 14-year odyssey came to an end on Sunday, Sept. 21, when the spacecraft passed into Jupiter's shadow then disintegrated in the planet's dense atmosphere at 11:57 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time. The Deep Space Network tracking station in Goldstone, Calif., received the last signal at 12:43:14 PDT. The delay is due to the time it takes for the signal to travel to Earth.

The Galileo spacecraft's 14-year odyssey came to an end on Sunday, Sept. 21, when the spacecraft passed into Jupiter's shadow then disintegrated in the planet's dense atmosphere at 11:57 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time. The Deep Space Network tracking station in Goldstone, Calif., received the last signal at 12:43:14 PDT. The delay is due to the time it takes for the signal to travel to Earth.

==External Links ==

==External links ==

[http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/index.html/ NASA's Project Galileo site]

* [http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/index.html/ NASA's Project Galileo site]

[[Category:Space Exploration]]

[[Category:Space Exploration]]