THIS DAY IN HISTORY: Galileo Spacecraft Flew Closer to Jupiter Than Ever Before in 2002

By  //  November 5, 2020

November 5, 2002

In 2002, the Galileo spacecraft flew closer to Jupiter than ever before on November 5, passing by the small moon Amalthea and through Jupiter’s thin “gossamer” ring. (NASA Image)

(NASA) – In 2002, the Galileo spacecraft flew closer to Jupiter than ever before on November 5, passing by the small moon Amalthea and through Jupiter’s thin “gossamer” ring.

On this close approach, though, it sustained damage from Jupiter’s naturally strong radiation, and its instruments and tape recorder shut down.

After a month-long remote repair effort, engineers at JPL located the problem in the tape recorder and managed to repair it from millions of miles away, enabling data on the tape recorders to finally be transmitted to Earth!

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