MISSIONS TO JUPITER

Int.

Astronomical specifications:

Discovery 
Orbital characteristics:
Distance from Sun 778,412,010 km
Perihelion 740.5 (106 km)
Aphelion 816.6 (106 km)
Orbital Inclination 1.31 deg
Orbital Eccentricity 0.049
Orbital periode round Sun 11.862 years
Orbital Speed 13.069 km/s
Number of moons 63
Rings Yes
Physical characteristics:
Diameter 142,984 km
Surface area 64,000,000,000 km²
Volume 1.431 x 1051 km³
Mass 1.8987 1027kg
Density 1326 kg/cm³
Equatorial gravity 23.12 m/s²
Escape velocity 59.54 km/s
Rotation period 9.9 hours
Axial tilt 3.12 deg
Surface temperature -110 C (152 K)
Surface Pressure - bars
Atmospheric composition H2 He

Jupiter on June 17, 2010, captured by the HST telescope


Early history:

Space race:

Jupiter missions:

Name Launch
Date		 Launch rocket Weight
(kg)		 Mission
Pioneer 10 (USA) 03-Mar-72 Atlas-Centaur 258 kg First successful fly-by of Jupiter.
Pioneer 11 (USA) 06-Apr-73 Atlas-Centaur 259 kg Jupiter probe. First successful fly-by of Saturn providing detailed view of ring structure.
Voyager 2 (USA) 20-Aug-77 Titan-Centaur 815 kg Voyager 2 flew by Jupiter on July 9, 1979. Returned pictures and data.
Voyager 1 (USA) 05-Sep-77 Titan-Centaur 815 kg Fly-by probe of Jupiter and Saturn. Returned pictures and data. Discovered volcanoes on Io, Jupiter ring, new Saturn moons and ring structure.
Galileo (USA) 18-Oct-89 Shuttle/IUS 2.715 kg Jupiter orbiter, atmosphere probe. First Jupiter atmosphere entry on Dec 07, 1995, returned 58 min of data. Orbiter 1.291 kg; entry probe 339 kg.
Ulysses (ESA/US) 06-Oct-90 Shuttle/IUS 371 kg Jupiter gravity assist International Solar Polar Mission (ISPM).
Cassini-Huygens (USA,ESA) 15-Oct-97 Titan-Centaur 5.634 kg Closest approach with Jupiter was on Dec 30, 2000.
New Horizons (US) 19-Jan-06 Atlas V 478 kg Pluto-Charon fly-by probe. Scheduled arrival is mid-2015 for 5-month geological study and mapping mission.
JUNO (US) 05.08.11 Atlas-5(551) 3625 kg Juno will be the first mission to Jupiter using solar panels instead of the radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) used by Pioneer 10, Pioneer 11, the Voyager program, Cassini–Huygens, and the Galileo orbiter.

Ref.: #27, #98 - update: 11.08.11 Home