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The first spacecraft to explore Jupiter was Pioneer 10, which flew past the planet in December 1973, followed by Pioneer 11 twelve months later. Pioneer 10 obtained the first close-up images of Jupiter and its Galilean moons; the spacecraft studied the planet's atmosphere, detected its magnetic field, observed its radiation belts and determined ...
Its closest approach to Jupiter was on March 5, 1979, at a distance of about 349,000 kilometres (217,000 miles) from the planet's center. [37] Because of the greater photographic resolution allowed by a closer approach, most observations of the moons, rings, magnetic fields, and the radiation belt environment of the Jovian system were made ...
Juno in launch configuration. Juno is a NASA space probe orbiting the planet Jupiter.It was built by Lockheed Martin and is operated by NASA 's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.The spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on August 5, 2011 UTC, as part of the New Frontiers program. [6]
Spacecraft Destination Launch date Closest approach Time elapsed Notes Ref Venera 1: Venus 12 February 1961 19 May 1961 97 days (3 months, 8 days) Contact with Venera 1 was lost 7 days after launch. It was the first spacecraft to fly by Venus, or indeed any planet. [78] Mariner 2: Venus 27 August 1962 14 December 1962 110 days (3 months, 18 days)
At the closest approach, the velocity of the spacecraft reached 132,000 km/h (82,000 mph; 37,000 m/s), [49] and it came within 132,252 kilometers (82,178 mi) of the outer atmosphere of Jupiter. Close-up images of the Great Red Spot and the terminator were obtained. Communication with the spacecraft then ceased as it passed behind the planet. [44]
Spacecraft safed at 4 hours before encounter due to software problem. With very little time, the Galileo team had to formulate command sequences and get them to Jupiter. The spacecraft recovered only three minutes before the closest encounter with Io. Collected dramatic pictures of Io volcanic activity. Observed mile-high lava fountain.
NASA's Juno spacecraft recently flew by Jupiter, collecting crucial data -- and the best look we've gotten at the planet in a very long time. This is the closest photo of Jupiter anyone has seen ...
First time a spacecraft coming from deep space uses the Earth for a gravity-assist manoeuvre. ESA Giotto [42] 21 October 1991: First asteroid flyby (951 Gaspra closest approach 1,600 km). USA (NASA) Galileo: 1992 First confirmed observation of an exoplanet. Canada Poland: Aleksander Wolszczan & Dale Frail: 8 February 1992: First polar orbit ...