Galileo - Mission to Jupiter

MPS contributions

MPS is involved in one instrument onboard the orbiter is designed to  the numbers and energies of ions and electrons whose energies exceed about 20 keV. (An electron volt, eV, is the unit of energy equal to the energy that an electron acquires in falling through an electrical potential of 1 volt.). EPD can also measure the direction of travel of such particles and, in the case of ions, can determine their composition (whether the ion is oxygen or sulfur, for example).

MPS is also involved in an instrument onboard the Galileo Probe. The Lightning and Radio Emission Detector LRD was built to characterize possible lightning activity on Jupiter.

The contributions of the MPS to that very important mission to investigate the magnetosphere of Jupiter and to explore the Galilean moons are listed below.