At the end of the mission of Galileo in 2003,the spacecraft was sent to burn up in the atmosphere of Jupiter.Why was it not just left floating in space?
A) The last part of the mission was a final probe of Jupiter's atmosphere.
B) It was feared Galileo might some day crash on Europa and contaminate its oceans with biological organisms from Earth.
C) It was feared the new Cassini spacecraft might crash into it.
D) Galileo carried a nuclear reactor,and the spacecraft was destroyed to prevent possible radioactive contamination.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The primary reason for intentionally sending Galileo into Jupiter's atmosphere was to avoid any risk of it contaminating Europa, one of Jupiter's moons, with Earthly organisms. Europa is considered one of the prime locations in our solar system where life might exist, and preventing biological contamination was a key concern.

At the End of the Mission of Galileo in 2003,the