Spacecraft
Galileo
NASA · launched 1989-10-18
The first spacecraft to orbit Jupiter (1995 to 2003). It dropped a probe into Jupiter's atmosphere, made the first asteroid flybys, and ended its mission with a deliberate plunge into Jupiter.
Mission timeline
- 1990-02-10: Venus flyby
- 1990-12-08: Earth flyby
- 1991-10-29: Asteroid Gaspra flyby
- 1992-12-08: Earth flyby
- 1993-08-28: Asteroid Ida flyby
- 1995-07-13: Atmospheric probe released
- 1995-12-07: Jupiter orbit insertion; probe enters the atmosphere
- 2003-09-21: Mission ends with plunge into Jupiter
Trajectory: JPL Horizons.