Galileo

Galileo — spacecraft, shown live in Cosmoscope, a real-time 3D map of the universe.

The first spacecraft to orbit Jupiter, Galileo revealed a likely ocean inside Europa before being deliberately sent to burn up in the giant’s clouds.

Launched
18 Oct 1989
Status
Mission ended 2003 — plunged into Jupiter

Seeing Galileo in real time

Cosmoscope draws Galileo on its real trajectory, from mission ephemeris rather than an artist's impression. Open the live 3D view to see where Galileo is right now, how far it has travelled from the Sun, and how long its radio signal takes to reach Earth. Scrub the timeline to replay the route that took it there.

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Interactive universe
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