dipper@utastro.UUCP (Debbie Byrd) (03/12/85)
A spaceship on its way toward Jupiter will also fly past an asteroid. More -- after this. March 12 Galileo to Visit an Asteroid The most sophisticated NASA spacecraft to date is now scheduled for launch in May of 1986 -- on a mission to the planet Jupiter. The Galileo mothership will send a probe into the Jovian atmosphere -- afterwards, it'll tour Jupiter's mini-solar-system of rings and moons for about a year. Recently, the Galileo mission to Jupiter was rerouted to accomplish something extra. This craft will become the first ever to fly close to an asteroid. Galileo has to cross the asteroid belt on its way to the planet Jupiter. NASA decided a couple of months ago that this spacecraft should be rerouted to go past one of these small rocky bodies orbiting the sun. The asteroid chosen for the honor is 29 Amphitrite -- thought to be about 150 miles in diameter. While on its way to Jupiter, Galileo will pass within six to twelve thousand miles of Amphitrite. What hasn't been decided is whether Galileo will actually study the asteroid. That won't be decided until the craft is actually on its way -- until ground tests have been performed on Galileo and its "mission operations system." If the spacecraft passes the tests, though, the world will get its first-ever look at an asteroid. We'll get a close-up picture -- as well as information on the asteroid's exact size, shape, mass, density and surface. That'll be exciting -- a first-time look at a distant cousin in our sun's family. Script by Deborah Byrd. (c) Copyright 1984, 1985 McDonald Observatory, University of Texas at Austin