Hello Io, From Galileo

FortKnox writes: "This afternoon super-durable Galileo will swoop in on the south pole of Io. Scientists hope to learn a little more about the volcanic moon of Jupiter. And it shows some great NASA innovation in the little probe still working great (although low on fuel). Fly-by will happen at 3:23pm EST."

Comments

When NASA gets it right....

[Fenris2001]

I'm still amazed at the successes of our space exploration program - Galileo is still working, even after exposure to Jupiter's radiation belts, Pioneer 10 is still sending signals, and the Viking landers (designed for a six-month mission) functioned for more than two years (four in the case of the second lander)!

I could go on and on about the good things NASA has done - the Deep Space mission, NEAR, etc. But of course these don't get as much press as when a mission goes wrong. The media has created in the mind of the public the irrational desire for perfection - we want it to work 100% the first time. But when pusing the frontiers of science, sometimes things break.