An artist's concept shows NASA Galileo spacecraft flying by the solar system’s largest planet Jupiter. The aircraft finished its 14-years mission and destroyed itself entering the planet’s atmosphere. Photo by AFP
NASA's Galileo spacecraft plunged into Jupiter's turbulent atmosphere on Sunday and then self-destructed after a 14-year, exploration of the solar system's largest planet and a 2.8 billion-mile journey. The spacecraft was torn apart and vaporized by the heat and friction of its fall through the clouds after it dove into the atmosphere as planned. "This was a spectacular end to a spectacular mission," scientist on the mission Rosaly Lopes said. Galileo was one of NASA's most successful missions, discovering the first moon of an asteroid, witnessing the impact of a comet into Jupiter and providing firm evidence of salty oceans on three of the planet's moons. Scientists consider one of the three, Europa, the most likely place in the solar system to harbor extraterrestrial life.