Galileo Launched Toward Jupiter in 1989

The space shuttle Atlantis carried Galileo into orbit on October 18, 1989, on mission STS-34. The spacecraft reached Jupiter on December 7, 1995, and completed 34 orbits of the giant planet before its mission ended in 2003.

On September 21, 2003, NASA sent Galileo into Jupiter’s atmosphere on purpose. The orbiter was running out of fuel and could no longer be steered safely, and planners did not want it to hit Europa. Galileo had found evidence of a possible ocean beneath the icy crust of that moon, and a crash could have carried Earth microbes to it. The plunge protected one of the best places to search for life beyond Earth.