The Galileo project was an American robotic space program that studied Jupiter and its moons (including Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto), as well as several other Solar System bodies. Named after the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, the Galileo spacecraft consisted of an orbiter and an atmospheric entry probe. It was launched in 1989 by the Space Shuttle Atlantis on the STS-34 mission. Despite suffering major antenna problems, Galileo achieved the first asteroid flyby (of 951 Gaspra), discovered the first asteroid moon (Dactyl, around 243 Ida), and observed Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9's collision with Jupiter. After gravity-assisted flybys of Venus and Earth, Galileo became the first spacecraft to orbit Jupiter. It then launched the first probe to directly measure Jupiter's atmosphere. In 2003, the mission was terminated by sending the orbiter into Jupiter's atmosphere to eliminate the possibility of contaminating the Jovian moons with terrestrial bacteria.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_project
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1748:
The War of the Austrian Succession ended with the signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Aix-la-Chapelle_%281748%29
1873:
Renton defeated Kilmarnock 2–0 in the opening match of the inaugural Scottish Cup. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1873%E2%80%9374_Scottish_Cup
1968:
At the Summer Olympics in Mexico City, American athlete Bob Beamon achieved a distance of 8.90 m (29.2 ft) in the long jump event, setting a world record that stood for 23 years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Beamon
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
superplural: (grammar, metaphysics (ontology), also attributive) A term, word, etc., that describes a plurality greater than another plural. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/superplural
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
War is pain, and hate is woe. Come in thy lowest form of love, and I will kneel and kiss thee; but at thy highest, come as mere supernal power; and though thou launchest navies of full-freighted worlds, there's that in here that still remains indifferent. Oh, thou clear spirit, of thy fire thou madest me, and like a true child of fire, I breathe it back to thee. --Moby-Dick https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Moby-Dick