5 Discoveries of NASA's Decades of Jupiter Exploration Revealed; Details, Findings and Timeline
Jupiter has fascinated humans since the beginning of time. For several decades, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has sent missions to the giant planet in an attempt to unearth its secrets.
On July 4, 2016, NASA announced that the Juno mission, which was launched on August 5, 2011, has successfully maneuvered into orbit around the gas giant. This added to NASA's long list of achievements in exploring Jupiter.
NASA's Jupiter exploration started decades ago with the belief that the giant planet is the key in tracing the origins and formation of the solar system. So far, here are the top five discoveries that NASA obtained throughout the years.
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1. Jupiter is mainly made up of liquid.
NASA's Jupiter exploration kicked off in the early 1970s when Pioneer 10 and 11 were launched to probe the largest planet in the solar system. The two space missions arrived in Jupiter in 1973 and 1974 respectively. The Pioneer missions have concluded that the planet is primarily composed of liquid. They also conveyed the possibility of a solid core in Jupiter because of its magnetotail, an extension of the planet's magnetic field.
2. Jupiter has Earth-like lighting, storm systems and volcanoes.
Voyager 1 and 2 were launched in 1977 to further expand the discoveries of the Pioneer missions. The Voyager space missions reached the giant planet in 1979 and were able to capture thousands of photos of the planet's surface and moon. The missions discovered the features of Jupiter's weather, which include the hurricane-like storm systems and lighting in the cloud tops. They also found out for the first time that the planet has more active volcanoes than the Earth.
3. The possibility of an ocean of water lying under the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa.
The Galileo missions followed the Voyager missions in the late 1980s. Unlike its predecessors, these missions were intended to orbit the planet. The set of spacecraft was able to gather pertinent data about the characteristics of the giant planet's atmosphere, including the measurements of its atmospheric elements. The space missions were also able to collect enough evidence to support the theory that an ocean of water exists under the surface of the planet's moon Europa.
4. Jupiter has changed its looks in 1997.
After the Galileo missions, the Ulysses mission in 1992 and the Cassini spacecraft in 2000 also conducted further documentation about Jupiter. The Pluto-bound New Horizons mission made a remarkable discovery while crossing Jupiter in 2007. The space mission found that Jupiter's look has evolved. They also discovered around 36 volcanoes and found out that their lava temperature is akin to Earth-based volcanoes.
5. Jupiter's look continues to evolve.
Launched in April 1990, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope took numerous photos and gathered several observations about Jupiter. Hubble was able to document the giant planet's collision with Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. In October 2015, Hubble noticed that the planet's Great Red Spot has changed, supporting early discoveries that the planet's look is evolving.
