QUESTION:
What do we hope to learn from the enconter?

ANSWER from Karen Buxbaum on January 15, 1996:
Thanks for your interest in Galileo and for your question.  

You asked, "...what do we hope to learn from the encounter."  I'll 
guess that you mean the encounter of the Galileo Probe with Jupiter's 
atmosphere on December 7.  If you do any research about the Probe, 
you'll find out that there were several instruments (7 actually) on 
board that were designed to make measurements while they were near or 
inside Jupiter's atmosphere.  There was also an experiment that didn't 
require a special instrument; it was called the Doppler Wind Experiment.  
The Doppler Wind Experiment actually used the tiny changes in the radio 
signal as the Probe descended to tell us about how the Probe was being 
moved or shifted off its course by the winds in Jupiter's atmosphere.  

What kind of measurements?  Well, imagine a probe in Earth's 
atmosphere--what might it try to measure?  You'll probably come up with 
some of the right answers.  Okay, do you have some ideas?  
1. What is the atmosphere made of?  
2. What are the clouds like?  
3. Is there lightning?  How much?  (The Voyager spacecraft took pictures 
   many years ago of Jupiter and saw flashes of light on the night side of 
   Jupiter suggesting there are lightning storms in Jupiter's atmosphere.)  

If you are more expert in atmospheric studies, you could also ask questions 
to finish off the list like: 
4. Are there layers or a special structure in the atmosphere as you get 
   deeper into it?  
5. Are there distinctive temperature differences at different depths?  
6. Are there energetic particles zooming around in the atmosphere that can 
   be measured?   Well, that's the main list of things the encounter was 
   designed to teach us.  

Now, depending on your own interests, you might say "Wow!!" or "ho, hum" 
and both responses are reasonable.  People have very different responses 
to the same collection of facts.  But, what about the first question 
concerning the benefits to us here on Earth?

TITLE: Benefits of Galileo on earth
QUESTION:
What will the Galileo project benefit us here on earth?

ANSWER from Karen Buxbaum on January 15, 1996:
Thanks for your interest in Galileo and for your question.  The
question you ask is one of those tricky ones that needs some facts AND some
opinions to create an answer.  

Human beings have always been explorers and adventurers.  Not all of us, 
but some of us have always been that type.  And human beings have always 
wondered about where they fit in; how our world is the same and how it is 
different from other worlds; how the world (or solar system or universe) 
began.  Planetary exploration is part of that questioning process.  
The Galileo project will benefit us here on Earth by 
(1) answering specific questions scientists have about Jupiter, its moons, 
    and their influence on the environment around them; 
(2) providing information about the formation of the Jupiter system that 
    can help explain formation of our solar system as a whole; 
(3) helping us learn more about exploration of the universe in new and 
    different ways and working with each other to spread our knowledge to 
    each other; 
(4) satisfy the explorers and adventurers inside each of us, helping to 
    satisfy our curiosity about the exotic reaches of space.  
These are just some of the benefits.

Here's another thought for you.  I think you have become a small, but 
important, part of the Galileo project by asking your questions to me 
through Online from Jupiter.  You caused me to spend time in my work day 
to think about your question and consider why we are really doing this 
big, difficult, expensive project.  Over the course of the next two years, 
as Galileo continues to make history, you can learn with us and be part of 
the adventure as a member of the Galileo team.