Planning a probing voyage to Jupiter: The adroit Galileo spacecraft, crammed with advanced instrumentation, should answer some age-old questions about the mysterious planet

The design of the Galileo spacecraft is described. To accommodate the instruments that require continuous scanning as well as those that need accurate pointing, the orbiter will have two sections, one spinning and the other stationary. A brief summary is given of the mission´s scientific goals. The tasks that will be performed by the spacecraft´s command and data subsystem and attitude and articulation control subsystem are described. Attention is given to the steps that were taken to ensure that the probe will be able to communicate with the orbiter through the atmosphere of Jupiter. Some of the planned measurements are briefly described, along with the instruments that will be used.