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Galileo Amalthea Flyby Threatened

Posted by michael on from the save-a-buck-or-two dept.

vince writes "The Galileo spacecraft will fly by Jupiter's moon Amalthea on November 5th. This is the *only* close flyby of this moon Galileo will make, but (as currently planned) it will not return any images, in order to save a paltry $1m - $1.5m. Looks like a grassroots campaign is going to be necessary to save the flyby."

2 of 33 comments (clear)

  1. Post I by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    POST, THE FIRST.

  2. Re:Small moons are interesting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll
    The Galilean moons are large enough to be spherical and to show geological processes and to hold on to trace atmospheres. That means there is probably much more to study with them than with the smaller moons, which have little geology aside from impact cratering. This is not meant to be a value judgement, merely an unfortunate pragmatic fact.
    You sound like a geologist. Who cares if the thing is spherical. The chemistry on the small inner moons promises to be incredibly rich. For example Amalthea is extremely red and has green patches of unknown origin. The equivalent of the "habitable zone" for Jupiter falls exactly where those small moons are. Since these things are kms wide, there are spots inside that are protected from the "nasty radiation" where life could even develop.