Slashdot Mirror


Galileo To Commit Mechacide

taylor writes "The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the old explorer spacecraft Galileo will soon commit suicide after flying a final mission. The spacecraft has been orbiting Juptiter for seven years. Tomorrow, Galileo will pass Amalthea, a tiny moon of that planet, to gather information about the moon's gravitational pull on the spacecraft, and thus about its material makeup. Immediately thereafter, Galileo will move quickly through Jupiter's rings, exposing itself to 100 times the radiation a human could withstand. The spacecraft will likely not survive; it is already crippled from the large amounts of radiation it has encountered thus far. In any case, Galileo will then begin its final orbit of Jupiter, ending next September in a fatal crash into the planet's dense atmosphere. Read the full article on SMH.com.au."

1 of 52 comments (clear)

  1. NASA is littering other planets now? by ruiner13 · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    They don't have enough garbage crashing back into Earth they now need to litter other planets too?

    --

    today is spelling optional day.