Callisto: Exploration

Callisto and Jupiter’s three other largest moons were discovered in 1610 by Italian scientist Galileo Galilei.

Almost 400 years later, a spacecraft bearing his name—the Galileo orbiter—began the first in depth study of the Jovian system, including Callisto and its sister moons. Galileo orbited Jupiter until the mission ended in 2003.

Since then, several NASA spacecraft, including Cassini and New Horizons, have studied the moon, taking images of its surface and gathering other data.

Xianzhe Jia

Scientist - NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

"Cassini is such a fantastic mission. It not only acquired a wealth of data that led to numerous discoveries, but also raised a new generation of planetary scientists, including myself."

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Name: Xianzhe Jia Uniqname: xzjia Department: AOSS Photo: Joseph Xu, Michigan Engineering Communications & Marketing www.engin.umich.edu

Suzanne "Suzy" Dodd

Project Manager - Jet Propulsion Laboratory

"Math is going to be the basis for all the science and engineering that you will have to do in the future."

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Margaret Kivelson

Scientist

Remember, I started before there were any spacecraft!

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Joan Salute

Program Executive - NASA Headquarters

Don't be afraid to try new areas. I was in the Earth sciences remote sensing area for 15 years before venturing out.

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Active

Juno

Launch Date: August 5, 2011. Juno is on a mission to probe beneath Jupiter's dense clouds and answer questions about the origin and evolution of Jupiter, and our solar system.

Hubble Space Telescope

Launch Date: April 24, 1990. The Hubble Space Telescope was designed to provide clear and deep views of distant galaxies and stars and most of the planets in our solar system.

Voyager 1

Launch Date: September 5, 1977. Voyager 1 successfully flew by both the Jupiter and Saturn systems before continuing out into the farthest most reaches of our solar system.

Artist's rendition of NASA's Voyager spacecraft

Voyager 2

Launch Date: August 20, 1977. Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to study all four of the solar system's giant planets at close range.

Ulysses

Launch Date: October 6, 1990. Ulysses was the first spacecraft to explore the Sun from a unique polar orbit.

Galileo

Launch Date: October 18, 1989. Galileo was designed to make the first study of Jupiter and its moons and magnetosphere from orbit. The orbiter carried 10 science instruments and a atmospheric probe.

Galileo Jupiter Atmospheric Probe

Launch Date: October 18, 1989. The Galileo spacecraft and probe traveled as one for almost six years. In July 1995, the probe was released to begin a solo flight into Jupiter

Pioneer 10

Launch Date: March 3, 1972. Pioneer 10, the first NASA mission to the outer planets, was the first spacecraft placed on a trajectory to escape the solar system into interstellar space; first to fly beyond Mars; first to fly through the asteroid belt; first to fly past Jupiter; first to use all-nuclear electrical power, and the first human-made object to fly beyond Neptune.

Ashley Davies

Volcanologist

Astronaut
Astronauts pave the way for human exploration beyond our Earth. They are pilots, scientists, engineers, teachers, and more. Meet an astronaut.
Project Manager
Project managers guide missions from concept to completion, working closely with team members to accomplish what they set out to do. Meet a project manager.
Rover Camera Operator
A camera payload uplink lead writes software commands that tell a rover what pictures to take. Meet a rover camera operator.
Artist
Melding science with design, artists create everything from large-scale installations to the NASA posters hanging in your bedroom. Meet an artist.
Media Specialist
Media specialists tells stories across social media and help feature missions and people on TV and in films, books, magazines, and news sites. Meet a media specialist.

The important thing about being a scientist or an engineer is learning how to think critically, learning how to be creative, learning problem solving and learning how to learn.

Tracy Drain

Flight Systems Engineer

Writer/Producer
Writers/producers capture the incredible stories of NASA's missions and people and share them with the world. Meet a producer.
Administrator/Director
Administrators and directors work out of NASA headquarters, prioritizing science questions and seeking to expand the frontiers of discovery. Meet a director.
Educator
Whether it's introducing kids to space or teaching physics to PhD candidates, educators help share their knowledge with the public. Meet an educator.
Engineer
Engineers design and build all types of machines, from what a spacecraft looks like to the software that directs where a rover goes each day. Meet an engineer.
Scientist
From an astrophysicist to a volcanologist, scientists of all types pose questions and help find answers to the mysteries of our universe. Meet a scientist.

Explore in 3D

Eyes on the Solar System

Eyes on the Solar System lets you explore the planets, their moons, asteroids, comets and the spacecraft exploring them from 1950 to 2050. Ride with the Curiosity Rover as it lands on Mars or fly by Pluto with the New Horizons spacecraft all from the comfort of your home computer.

Learn More