For Release: May 5, 1996

Catherine E. Watson
(804) 864-6122

Release No. 96-034

A Journey Through The Jovian Atmosphere: The Galileo Probe

The Galileo Probe made the first entry into the atmosphere of an outer planet in December 1995, plunging into Jupiter's swirling cloud tops, through strong, turbulent winds, into the hot, dense atmosphere below.

Marcie Smith, Galileo Probe manager, will discuss "A Journey Through a Giant Planet: The Jupiter Galileo Probe Mission" at 2 p.m. May 7 in the NASA Langley H.J.E. Reid Conference Center, Hampton, Va. Smith will describe Galileo’s systems and performance and present an overview of its initial science results. Smith has been a member of the Galileo team since 1992 and the Galileo Probe manager since 1994.

Smith earned a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Virginia in 1980 and a master’s in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford in 1982. Smith has worked in the NASA Ames Research Center’s space projects division, focusing on spacecraft operations, since 1980.

Smith has been a member of the Pioneer operations team since 1980, working on the Pioneer Venus orbiter mission as well as the outer solar system extended missions of Pioneer 10 and 11.

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