Galileo:
Goals: Galileo's mission team used the spacecraft's two encounters with asteroids as another science opportunity and equipment test for the primary Jupiter mission.

Accomplishments:In 1991, Galileo passed the asteroid 951 Gaspra at a distance of 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles). Galileo found that Gaspra is an irregular object (19 by 12 by 11 kilometers), which lacks the large craters common on many planetary satellites.

In 1993, Galileo had crossed paths with asteroid 243 Ida, at a distance of 2,400 kilometers (1,500 miles). Much to everyone's surprise, Galileo images showed a tiny moon orbiting Ida - the first known moon of asteroid. Dactyl, about 1.5 kilometers in diameter, orbits about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Ida's center.

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18 Oct 1989:  Launch (16:53:40 UT) 7 Dec 1995:  Probe Descent (22:04 UT - 23:02 UT) 21 Sep 2003:  Jupiter Impact (18:57:18 UT) Status:  Successful Show All Dates for Galileo		30 Apr 2008:  Jupiter's Shadow Sculpts Its Rings 17 Apr 2007:  The Complete Io 31 May 2005:  Icy Jupiter Moon Throws a Curve Ball at Formation Theories More Headlines
The spacecraft was named in honor of Galileo Galilei (right), the 17th Century Italian astronomer who proved planets orbit our Sun. The spacecraft was the first to orbit a gas giant planet. Galileo plunged into Jupiter's crushing atmosphere on Sept. 21, 2003. The spacecraft was deliberately destroyed to protect one of its own discoveries - a possible ocean beneath the icy crust of the moon Europa.		Solar System Bodies: Asteroids Galileo Multimedia Gallery NSSDC Master Catalog: Galileo Orbiter NSSDC Master Catalog: Galileo Probe Galileo Legacy Site