On September 21, 2003, NASA deliberately steered the Galileo spacecraft into Jupiter at 108,000 miles per hour to keep its plutonium-powered hull from ever reaching Europa. The mission's success had made its continued existence dangerous to the science that would come after it.
On September 21, 2003, NASA’s Galileo spacecraft hit Jupiter’s atmosphere at nearly 108,000 miles per hour. It was not an accident, and it was not a malfunction. After almost eight years orbiting Jupiter, flight controllers deliberately sent the spac... [11432 chars]