Lead
After the rise of human spaceflight, human exploration of space is no longer limited to the earth, but has set its sights on the boundless starry sky of the universe, and as a giant planet in the solar system, Jupiter has naturally been deeply curious.
Not only that, but humans sent a probe to Jupiter as early as 1973 to fully explore Jupiter.
But why did human probes never land on Jupiter?
This is not because human beings are unwilling, but because they really can't do it, what is so strange about Jupiter, and what factors restrict human probes?
1. Jupiter's composition, climate, and magnetic field characteristics.
Jupiter is the planet with the largest number of moons in the solar system and the largest planet in the solar system, Jupiter is 11 times the diameter of the Earth and 33,000 times the size of the Earth, while Jupiter is only one thousandth the mass of the Sun.
Jupiter is named after the Jupiter family in the solar system, also known as the "big planets" or "giant planets", and Jupiter is also the largest gas planet in the solar system.
There is a theory about the name of Jupiter, which was called Jupiter by the ancient Romans, and Jupiter was a king of the gods, which shows how much the ancient Romans attached great importance to Jupiter.
The history of Jupiter dates back to the 17th century, when Galileo discovered four moons of Jupiter through a telescope, known as Galilean moons, and Galileo observed the orbits of these moons and came to the conclusion that it was not the sun that revolves around the earth, but the earth that revolves around the sun.
This discovery and conclusion is considered the beginning of the "scientific revolution" in the field of astronomy, and Galileo is considered the founder of modern astronomy.
Galileo's discovery of Jupiter was confirmed in the following centuries, and more moons were discovered in 1979, bringing the total number of moons in the solar system to 79.
Jupiter's atmosphere is mainly composed of hydrogen and helium, with a slight amount of ammonia and helium, as well as some trace amounts of water and methane.
Jupiter's atmosphere is made up of three layers: the outermost layer is the troposphere, the middle is the stratosphere, and the innermost layer is the radiation layer.
Jupiter's troposphere interior is unstable and subject to stormy rains, with countless storm regions, the largest of which is called the "Great Red Spot", which is 1.3 times the diameter of the Earth and can accommodate two Earths, which means that the Great Red Spot is 3.3 times the size of the Earth.
The Great Red Spot has been around for a very long time, and it has been 400 years since the discovery of the Great Red Spot, but since the early 19th century, the form of the Great Red Spot has changed and shrunk a lot.
Human exploration of Jupiter was carried out from a long distance, and the reason why it did not land on the surface of Jupiter was largely because the environment on Jupiter's surface was too harsh.
Jupiter's magnetic field is also very strong, 20 times that of the Earth, and Jupiter's magnetic field is generated by the current generated inside it, as well as the nuclear current, so it produces a relatively strong magnetic field.
The strength of Jupiter's magnetic field is far beyond the range that humans can bear, so if a human probe enters Jupiter's magnetic field, it may be affected by the magnetic field to a large extent, and even unable to carry out normal detection due to the influence of the magnetic field.
2. The history of human exploration of Jupiter.
Human exploration of Jupiter dates back to 1973, when the Voyager probe was launched to Jupiter, but the Voyager probe did not leave Jupiter's orbit, but continued to fly outward, eventually flying to the solar wind region of the solar system.
In 1990, the Galileo probe was launched to Jupiter, and the Galileo probe explored Jupiter on its way to Jupiter, as well as several moons of Jupiter, which reached Jupiter in 1995.
After reaching Jupiter, the Galileo probe released a probe to Jupiter, and the Galileo probe flew close to Jupiter, decelerated and entered Jupiter's orbit, and explored Jupiter for 8 years, as well as 13 moons of Jupiter.
At the same time, humans also launched the Cassini-Huygens probe to Jupiter in 2000, but the Cassini-Huygens probe did not enter Jupiter's orbit, but flew to Saturn, and human exploration of Jupiter has not stopped.
In 2011, the Juno probe was launched to Jupiter, and the Juno probe used to accelerate the gravitational pull between the Earth and Jupiter before reaching Jupiter, so that the probe would be faster on the way to Jupiter.
But in order to further reduce the speed of the probe, humans still released the probe, let the probe fly to Jupiter, and finally enter the orbit of Jupiter, to explore Jupiter.
3. The harsh surface environment of Jupiter.
So why didn't human probes land on the surface of Jupiter to explore?
It is well known that probes need to be probed to a certain extent after reaching space, but why didn't the probes on Jupiter land on the surface of Jupiter?
This is first of all because Jupiter's surface environment is too harsh, and there are three main reasons for Jupiter's poor surface environment: one is high pressure, the second is high temperature, and the third is a strong magnetic field.
After the human probe arrives at Jupiter, it can use the instruments on the probe to detect Jupiter's magnetic field and meteorology, but if the probe lands on the surface of Jupiter for probing, will the probe be able to withstand the high pressure of Jupiter in the first place?
Jupiter's surface pressure is 1,000 times that of Earth, so if a probe lands on Jupiter's surface, will the probe's chamber be able to withstand such pressure?
The second is that Jupiter's surface temperature is very high, 165 degrees Celsius, so can the probe's chamber withstand such high temperatures?
Finally, Jupiter's magnetic field is very strong, so can the detector's electronics resist Jupiter's magnetic field?
What's more, the probe of human beings on Earth has been limited to the surface of the earth, and the electronic devices on the probe are not affected by the earth's magnetic field, but after coming into contact with Jupiter's magnetic field, it is very likely to be affected by Jupiter's magnetic field, and it is also possible that Jupiter's magnetic field interferes with the normal operation of the probe.
However, human beings have not given up the exploration of Jupiter, although human probes cannot land on the surface of Jupiter, but they can detect Jupiter's composition and magnetic field from a long distance, and at the same time, they can also detect Jupiter's moons, and these detection data are helpful for human understanding of Jupiter.
Although it is difficult for human technology to overcome these problems, with the continuous development of technology, perhaps more advanced probes will be able to break through this limitation in the future, explore the interior of gaseous planets, detect more accurate data, and solve the mysteries of Jupiter.
epilogue
As a giant planet in the solar system, Jupiter has a unique climate, composition and magnetic field, which provides an important research object for human exploration of the solar system, and also provides important clues for us to explore the formation and evolution of the solar system.
Although the exploration of Jupiter is difficult, the exploration of Jupiter is not only an exploration of the solar system, but also a challenge and breakthrough to human science and technology, and this spirit of challenge and technological innovation has also promoted the development of human science and technology.
Jupiter's unique environment and characteristics have also provided a lot of inspiration for science fiction writers, many science fiction works have depicted wonderful scenes and storylines about Jupiter, and human exploration of Jupiter has also led to the development of space technology and related scientific and technological fields, promoted the progress and innovation of the space industry, and laid the foundation for mankind to explore the universe in the future.