1
00:00:19,970 --> 00:00:17,630
in recent years NASA shuttle fleet has

2
00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:19,980
launched a trio spacecraft beginning a

3
00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:22,650
second phase of robotic exploration of

4
00:00:28,519 --> 00:00:25,890
our solar system initially sent to every

5
00:00:30,529 --> 00:00:28,529
planet except Pluto their travels

6
00:00:33,799 --> 00:00:30,539
confirmed planetary atmospheres

7
00:00:37,310 --> 00:00:33,809
reminiscent of early Earth evidence of

8
00:00:40,369 --> 00:00:37,320
water active volcanoes planetary rings

9
00:00:43,490 --> 00:00:40,379
and even giant storms were discovered

10
00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:43,500
the new phase of exploration provides

11
00:00:50,869 --> 00:00:47,450
even more in-depth studies in October

12
00:00:53,779 --> 00:00:50,879
1990 the Ulysses spacecraft began a

13
00:00:56,119 --> 00:00:53,789
five-year journey it was built by the

14
00:00:59,540 --> 00:00:56,129
European Space Agency to learn more

15
00:01:01,299 --> 00:00:59,550
about the Sun Jupiter is the ultimate

16
00:01:05,590 --> 00:01:01,309
destination for NASA's Galileo

17
00:01:08,660 --> 00:01:05,600
spacecraft launched in October 1989

18
00:01:12,710 --> 00:01:08,670
after reaching the giant gaseous planet

19
00:01:14,929 --> 00:01:12,720
in late 1995 Galileo would deploy a tiny

20
00:01:18,289 --> 00:01:14,939
probe to penetrate the atmosphere and

21
00:01:20,390 --> 00:01:18,299
radio back data at the same time the

22
00:01:22,670 --> 00:01:20,400
main orbiter will use its complement of

23
00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:22,680
12 experiments to study Jupiter's

24
00:01:29,539 --> 00:01:26,130
sixteen moons its atmosphere radiation

25
00:01:32,210 --> 00:01:29,549
and magnetic fields traveling to Jupiter

26
00:01:34,670 --> 00:01:32,220
requires a series of gravity assists

27
00:01:37,310 --> 00:01:34,680
giving the spacecraft to push by

28
00:01:40,550 --> 00:01:37,320
visiting Venus once then earth twice

29
00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:40,560
before making the final leg to Jupiter

30
00:01:45,679 --> 00:01:43,170
this is what Galileo saw when it

31
00:01:48,710 --> 00:01:45,689
recently came within 600 miles of Earth

32
00:01:52,010 --> 00:01:48,720
on its first pass hundreds of images

33
00:01:54,380 --> 00:01:52,020
were combined over a 25 hour period to

34
00:01:57,529 --> 00:01:54,390
give a view never seen before of the

35
00:01:59,929 --> 00:01:57,539
whole earth in motion images of the moon

36
00:02:03,560 --> 00:01:59,939
were also taken which include rare

37
00:02:06,590 --> 00:02:03,570
glimpses of its far side Earth's sister

38
00:02:09,589 --> 00:02:06,600
planet Venus is similar in size density

39
00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:09,599
and position in the solar system but

40
00:02:14,900 --> 00:02:12,170
very different in geology and climate

41
00:02:18,860 --> 00:02:14,910
making it an important candidate for

42
00:02:20,870 --> 00:02:18,870
study in May of 1989 the Atlantis

43
00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:20,880
shuttle poll released the spacecraft

44
00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:23,610
Magellan on a mission to map the entire

45
00:02:29,199 --> 00:02:27,090
surface of Venus the elegant yet simple

46
00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:29,209
mapper carries one instrument a

47
00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:31,890
high-resolution radar that sees through

48
00:02:36,470 --> 00:02:33,690
the planet's thick cloud choked

49
00:02:38,449 --> 00:02:36,480
atmosphere mapping has just begun at

50
00:02:41,660 --> 00:02:38,459
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in

51
00:02:44,270 --> 00:02:41,670
Pasadena California investigators like

52
00:02:46,759 --> 00:02:44,280
dr. Jim head a geologist at Brown

53
00:02:48,949 --> 00:02:46,769
University are already seeing features

54
00:02:51,410 --> 00:02:48,959
that set this planet apart from all

55
00:02:53,930 --> 00:02:51,420
others the detail of the Magellan images

56
00:02:55,310 --> 00:02:53,940
and their crispness is so incredibly

57
00:02:57,050 --> 00:02:55,320
it's these are these are just like

58
00:02:59,870 --> 00:02:57,060
pieces of art you know we sit and we

59
00:03:02,690 --> 00:02:59,880
look at these almost an AW some raw data

60
00:03:04,670 --> 00:03:02,700
has also been processed into movies that

61
00:03:06,920 --> 00:03:04,680
bring out the desolate lava-filled

62
00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:06,930
landscape making up so much of the

63
00:03:13,009 --> 00:03:11,010
Venusian surface old areas unspoiled by

64
00:03:14,870 --> 00:03:13,019
lava flows are intriguing to

65
00:03:17,990 --> 00:03:14,880
investigators because they show little

66
00:03:19,640 --> 00:03:18,000
sign of being eroded if you said to

67
00:03:22,009 --> 00:03:19,650
someone gee you know we have this planet

68
00:03:23,479 --> 00:03:22,019
here that has this incredibly hot dense

69
00:03:25,580 --> 00:03:23,489
atmosphere and by the way it sort of

70
00:03:27,530 --> 00:03:25,590
rained sulfuric acid and so on

71
00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:27,540
you know you get this vision of things

72
00:03:31,099 --> 00:03:29,370
are rotating away completely and no

73
00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:31,109
record of anything but it's quite to the

74
00:03:35,870 --> 00:03:33,090
contrary in fact the very dense

75
00:03:38,539 --> 00:03:35,880
atmosphere keeps these small projectiles

76
00:03:39,979 --> 00:03:38,549
that would come in from outer space off

77
00:03:42,020 --> 00:03:39,989
the surface and the very high surface

78
00:03:43,670 --> 00:03:42,030
temperatures mean that there's no liquid

79
00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:43,680
water and we're able to look at the

80
00:03:49,039 --> 00:03:47,250
surface and see an crisp rich detail the

81
00:03:50,720 --> 00:03:49,049
nature of the geological processes that

82
00:03:52,130 --> 00:03:50,730
are operating much more so than we're

83
00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:52,140
able to do on the earth

84
00:03:56,990 --> 00:03:54,690
in the coming years as the United States

85
00:03:59,960 --> 00:03:57,000
and its international partners continue

86
00:04:03,200 --> 00:03:59,970
planetary exploration the spacecraft

87
00:04:06,020 --> 00:04:03,210
Ulysses Galileo and Magellan will play