Mission Jupiter: The Spectacular Journey of the Galileo Spacecraft

by Daniel Fischer

We are at the dawn of a new era in the study of space, all thanks to the Galileo space probe. Mission Jupiter brings us the exciting story of the Galileo mission to investigate Jupiter. The noted astronomer Daniel Fischer, co-author of A New Window to the Universe and Hubble New Images from the Discovery Machine, weaves together the many disparate facts learned about Jupiter and its satellites into a coherent description of this most fascinating planet, after stepping back to review the history of planetary exploration. Mission Jupiter tells the entire story of a behind-the-scenes look at its difficult course from idea to reality; its launch; the problems it encountered early on and how these were resolved; and finally, what will become of the probe. Along the way, the author describes what wee learned about Jupiter, including what the Jovian atmosphere is really like, and the peculiar reality of the planet's magnetic field. The story of the journey to Jupiter is combined with interesting details about Galileo's capacities and a graphic description of the solar system, with an entertaining episode on how Galileo would judge the chances of finding life on Earth. The book concludes with a look to the future, closing on the Cassini probe to Saturn, launched just last year. Beautifully illustrated and well written, Mission Jupiter shows us space exploration at its best and conveys the essential science clearly and vividly. '

Genres: Astronomy, Space, Nonfiction, Science

332 pages, Hardcover

First published May 19, 1998

Reviews

[Kian Haghighi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This nonfiction novel describes an interesting story of a space exploration. Space enthusiasts will enjoy this book and it will make them think about it. It has interesting visuals that makes the novel more understandable. However, the novel tries to give the readers too much statistics which is not necessary and wastes the readers time.