Exploring magnetism around planets and moons
The Galileo mission
The Galileo mission to Jupiter began in 1995 and ended in September 2003. The spacecraft lasted six years longer than expected and made many exciting discoveries.
Data analysis at Imperial College
The Galileo spacecraft has made over thirty orbits of Jupiter and in that time come close to many of Jupiter's moons. Scientists at Imperial are helping to interpret the mass of data sent back by the Galileo probe. The London-based scientists are experts in the analysis of data from instruments that measure magnetic fields (magnetometers). Magnetometer data provide evidence about the composition and structure of planets and moons.
A record breaking mission
Galileo was the first space craft to measure the atmosphere of Jupiter directly. On its long journey to Jupiter is was the first probe to fly by an asteroid. In its encounter with Ida it detected that the asteroid had a moon named Dactyl.
Submitted by: Checked by Dr Michele Dougherty. Images from NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 21 September 2003
