Future Galileo Flybys of Io

In the second half of 2001 and in January 2002, Io will pass by Io three times. These flybys will be closer than passes in 1999 and 2000. These flybys have recently been approved by NASA. Much of what I know about these flybys will be put on this page.  Below is a map showing the trajectory of Galileo during these flybys.  Also below is an image of the groundpaths of 6 of the 7 Galileo flybys of Io.

The first post-GMM Io flyby, I31, takes place on August 6, 2001 at 4:59 UTC. At that time, Galileo will fly over Io's north polar region at a distance of 200 km taking very high resolution images and magnetospheric data. During this flyby, Galileo is scheduled to take images of Tvashtar, Prometheus, Savitr (a large caldera bordering a mountain south of Tvashtar Catena), Amirani, Itzamna, Masubi, Lei Zi, and Kanehekili. Global nightime NIMS and SSI images of Loki, Isum, Pele, and Pillan and terminator images will also be taken. The second flyby, I32, occurs on October 16, 2001 at 1:26 UTC. During this flyby, Galileo will flyby over Io's south polar region at a close approach distance of 190 km. In addition to magnetospheric data, Galileo is scheduled to observe the south polar region at high resolution, Loki on the terminator, Pele at Night, Telegonus Mensae sapping scarp, Emakong, Tupan, Tohil Mons, Shamash, Prometheus, and Gish Bar. Many of these areas were scheduled to be imaged during the November 1999 flyby of Io, but due to a spacecraft safing event, these observations were lost. The final Io flyby occurs on January 17, 2002 at 14:09 UTC with a close approach distance of 100 km, making it the closest flyby of Io ever. No observations are planned for this flyby but this may change.

By this time the Galileo mission would be nearing an end. On November 5, 2002, Galileo will flyby the inner moon Amalthea from a distance of 500 km. Galileo will use this flyby to measure the mass and density of Amalthea. Galileo will pass within 1 Rj of Jupiter's cloud tops allowing for sudiy of Jupiter's inner radiation belts. On September 22, 2003, Galileo will return to the heart of the Jupiter system, for the last time. It will plunge into the clouds of Jupiter, finally killing the spacecraft.