Jupiter-Bound Juno Will Carry Tribute to Galileo

In recognition of his enormous contribution to understanding Jupiter and its moon, Galileo Galilei will be honored during the new mission NASA is sending to the planet. The Juno spacecraft will carry three figurines to deep space, of which one is modeled after the famous scientist.

The probe will also carry a plaque dedicated to the famous space explorer, who conducted a vast number of observations of our solar system centuries ago. His contribution to publicizing the fact that the Earth is not the center of the solar system is widely considered to be invaluable.

The 1.5-inch likeness of Galileo Galilei that will fly on Juno was provided by the LEGO Group, which has a long-term contract with NASA for delivering all sorts of models to space exploration missions and even the International Space Station (ISS).

In addition to the famous astronomer, the orbiter will also carry a model of the Roman god Jupiter and his wife Juno, signifying the space probe's target and the space vehicle itself. A plaque depicting Galileo's face will also be stored on the vehicle.

The three mini-statues were included in the spacecraft payload as part of a joint outreach and education program the American space agency and the LEGO Group have been conducting for quite some time.

Its stated goal is to get more children and teens interested in vital fields such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Over the past decade or so, fewer and fewer students applied to attend colleges or universities that teach STEM, and authorities are concerned about this.

Without STEM students, a country cannot hope to progress scientifically and technologically through its own population, and may be forced to rely on foreign scientists for the task. The US is dangerously close to this situation, and NASA is playing its role in ensuring it's not reached.

The addition of Jupiter and Juno as mini-statues is obvious, but Galileo was also included because he was the one who observed the Jovian moons Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto in 1610. These objects are sometimes referred to as the Galilean moons.

At the time Galileo made his observations, there was no way he could use his small telescope to observe the smaller moons around the gas giant. However, considering that the studies were conducted more than 400 years ago, there's hardly anything anyone can comment on his performances.

The Juno spacecraft – which is poised to launch tomorrow, August 5, from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) – will arrive at Jupiter in about 5 years, and will spend a full year conducting scientific observations there.