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Pioneer 10 was launched in 1972 and flew within 81, 000 miles (130, 000 kilometers) of Jupiter on Dec. 3, 1973. The probe revealed the severe effects of Jupiter's radiation belt on spacecraft. Pioneer 10 also reported the amount of hydrogen and helium in the planet's atmosphere. In addition, the probe discovered that Jupiter has an enormous magnetosphere.
Pioneer 10 was launched toward Jupiter on an Atlas rocket in 1972. After reaching the planet in late 1973, it made the first close-up photographs of Jupiter. Pioneer-Saturn (also called Pioneer 11) flew within 27, 000 miles (43, 000 kilometers) of Jupiter in December 1974. The craft provided close-up photographs of Jupiter's polar regions and data on the Great Red Spot, the magnetic field, and atmospheric temperatures. Two Pioneer spacecraft studied Jupiter in 1973 and 1974 and provided important information about the planet's atmosphere, magnetic field, and radiation belt. Scientists mounted a plaque on the Pioneer spacecraft that displayed diagrams capable of being translated by any scientifically educated civilization that might encounter the spacecraft in the future.
The diagrams show the position of our solar system in the galaxy, images of a man and woman, and chemical information about hydrogen -- the most common element in the universe. Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 flew past Jupiter in March and July 1979, respectively. These craft carried more sensitive instruments than did the Pioneers, and transmitted much more information. Astronomers used photographs taken by the Voyagers to make the first detailed maps of the Galilean satellites. The Voyagers also revealed sulfur volcanoes on Io, discovered lightning in Jupiter's clouds, and mapped flow patterns in the cloud bands. Two Voyager spacecraft flew past Jupiter in 1979.
Scientists used these robotic craft to study Jupiter's atmosphere and moons. Voyager 2 photographed the Galilean satellite Io in front of Jupiter's southern hemisphere in 1979. The spacecraft's camera also recorded a series of images that show an eruption of white material in Jupiter's turbulent atmosphere. Voyager 1 observed the Great Red Spot swirling among Jupiter's clouds in 1979. Ulysses was launched in October 1990 and passed by Jupiter in February 1992. The European Space Agency, an organization of Western European nations, had built the probe mainly to study the sun's polar regions.
Scientists used the tremendous gravitational force of Jupiter to put Ulysses into an orbit that would take it over the sun's polar regions. As Ulysses passed by Jupiter, it gathered data indicating that the solar wind has a much greater effect on Jupiter's magnetosphere than earlier measurements had suggested. The Ulysses spacecraft gathered information about Jupiter's magnetic field in 1992 while en route to the Galileo began its journey to Jupiter in October 1989. The craft released an atmospheric probe in July 1995.
In December 1995, the probe plunged into Jupiter's atmosphere. It penetrated deep into the cloud layers. One of Galileo's most important missions was to measure the amount of water and other chemicals in Jupiter's atmosphere. Also in December 1995, Galileo went into orbit around Jupiter. Its first task was to record on tape the data transmitted by the probe, then relay the data to Earth. It then monitored Jupiter's atmosphere, and it observed the planet's major satellites.
Galileo was designed to orbit Jupiter for two years, and the craft completed this mission in December 1997. Next, it carried out an extended mission that ended in December 1999. Galileo then continued its observations under an extension known as the Galileo Millennium Mission. The Galileo spacecraft went into orbit around Jupiter in 1995.
It gathered data on Jupiter's atmosphere and satellites. A stuck antenna, however, limited the amount of information the craft could transmit back to Earth.
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Research essay sample on Polar Regions Magnetic Field
