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News Briefing Wraps Galileo's Spectacular Primary Mission; Journey Continues with Close Europa Flyby

Douglas Isbell
Headquarters, Washington, DC                  December 12, 1997
(Phone: 202/358-1753)

Jane Platt
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
(Phone: 818/354-5011)


NOTE TO EDITORS: N97-91

NEWS BRIEFING WRAPS GALILEO'S SPECTACULAR PRIMARY 
MISSION; JOURNEY CONTINUES WITH CLOSE EUROPA FLYBY

     Just six hours after NASA's Galileo spacecraft makes its 
closest-ever pass above Jupiter's icy moon Europa, scientists and 
engineers will present highlights of the spacecraft's primary 
mission and preview its two-year extended mission at a press 
briefing. The briefing, to be held on Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 1 p.m. 
EST, also will feature new images from Galileo's previous Europa 
flyby on Nov. 6, the final encounter of the primary mission. The 
briefing will originate from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 
Pasadena, CA, and will be carried live on NASA Television, with 
two-way question-and-answer capability for reporters at 
participating NASA Centers. 

     Galileo concluded its historic primary mission on Dec. 7 
after spending two years studying Jupiter, its magnetosphere and 
its four largest moons.

     The spacecraft immediately embarked on a two-year extension, 
called the Galileo Europa Mission, with eight planned Europa 
flybys, four Callisto flybys and one or two Io encounters, 
depending on spacecraft health.  Scientists hope to learn more 
about the tantalizing prospect that liquid oceans may lie 
underneath Europa's icy crust.  The first flyby of the Galileo 
Europa Mission will take place on Dec. 16 at 7:03 a.m. EST, at an 
altitude of only 124 miles (200 kilometers) above Europa, with the 
signal reaching Earth at 7:49 a.m. EST. This will be the closest 
approach to any planetary body by the Galileo spacecraft.

     During the primary mission, Galileo returned about one 
gigabyte of data and hundreds of high-resolution pictures.  At the 
briefing, scientists will summarize key findings from the 
spacecraft's abundant harvest of scientific information, 
including: 

Ganymede's magnetic field

Volcanic ice flows and melting or "rafting" on Europa's surface 
that support the premise of liquid oceans underneath

Studies of water vapor, lightning and aurora on Jupiter

The discovery of a hydrogen and carbon dioxide atmosphere on 
Callisto

The presence of metallic cores in Europa, Io and Ganymede and the 
lack of evidence for such a core in Callisto

High volcanic activity on Io, with dramatic changes since the 
Voyagers

     The Galileo spacecraft entered orbit around Jupiter on Dec. 
7, 1995, becoming the first mission to orbit one of the Solar 
System's outer planets.  It also deployed a parachute-borne probe 
into Jupiter's outer atmosphere. JPL manages the Galileo mission 
for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC.

     NASA Television is available through GE-2, transponder 9C at 
85 degrees west longitude, vertical polarization, with a frequency 
of 3880 MHz, and audio at 6.8 MHz. The new images will be released 
on the Galileo Internet home page at the following URL: 

           http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/

                          -end-