Galileo Galilei

Launched in 1989 Galileo has done a great job unmasking the hidden nature of Jupiter and it’s moons. It did not come easy though. The mission has been plagued with one mishap after another, but the spacecraft and it’s engineers have always come through. Read the fascinating story from this excellent article from the New Yorker. On September 21st the mission will be officially over when Galileo dives into Jupiter’s atmosphere in a suicide mission, designed to avoid the contamination that could occur if it would ever hit Europa.