Close encounter ends in flames

As the first ever, the Galileo craft visits Jupiter after six years of travelling hrough space with an arsenal of instruments and a small atmospheric probe.

In December 1995, Galileo lets go of the atmospheric probe, which slowly descends through the atmosphere. The small probe reveals wind speeds of 700+ km/h, which is more than expected. The probe manages to send data to Galileo for 59 minutes, before it burns up in the atmosphere. Galileo continues its scientific research of the gas giant, discovering volcanic activity on the Io moon and possibility of primitive life on the ice moon of Europa. After eight years of research, Galileo in 2003 suffers the same fate as the probe, burning up in the atmosphere.