juliensimon/galileo-jupiter-atmosphere

---
license: cc-by-4.0
pretty_name: "Galileo Probe Jupiter Atmospheric Profile"
language:
- en
description: "Jupiter atmospheric profile from the Galileo Probe descent (Dec 7, 1995) — temperature, pressure, and density from the stratosphere to ~24 bar."
task_categories:
- tabular-regression
tags:
- space
- jupiter
- galileo
- atmosphere
- nasa
- planetary-science
- probe
- descent
- open-data
- tabular-data
- parquet
size_categories:
- n<1K
configs:
- config_name: default
data_files:
- split: train
path: data/galileo_jupiter_atmosphere.parquet
default: true
---

# Galileo Probe Jupiter Atmospheric Profile

*Part of the [Space Probe & Mission Datasets](https://huggingface.co/collections/juliensimon/space-probe-and-mission-datasets-69c3fe82d410a42b1e313167) collection on Hugging Face.*

Jupiter atmospheric structure measured by the Galileo Probe Atmospheric Structure Instrument (ASI)
during entry and descent on **December 7, 1995**. The probe entered Jupiter's atmosphere at
6.5 degrees north planetocentric latitude and measured conditions from the stratosphere
(~1000 km altitude) down to the ~22 bar pressure level (~130 km below the 1-bar reference).

Currently **686** measurements: **386** from the entry phase (upper atmosphere)
and **300** from the parachute descent phase.

## Dataset description

The Galileo Probe was the first (and so far only) spacecraft to directly sample a giant planet's
atmosphere. Released from the Galileo orbiter, it entered Jupiter's atmosphere at ~47 km/s and
deployed a parachute at ~23 km above the 1-bar level. The Atmospheric Structure Instrument (ASI)
measured temperature, pressure, and density throughout the entry and descent phases.

The **entry phase** covers the upper atmosphere (stratosphere and upper troposphere, ~1000 km down
to ~23 km altitude) where measurements are derived from probe deceleration. The **descent phase**
covers the lower troposphere (~17 km down to ~-133 km, i.e., from 0.4 bar to ~22 bar) using
direct temperature and pressure sensors under parachute.

## Schema

| Column | Type | Description |
|--------|------|-------------|
| `phase` | string | Measurement phase: "entry" (upper atmosphere) or "descent" (lower atmosphere) |
| `time_s` | float64 | Time from minor frame 0 (seconds) |
| `altitude_km` | float64 | Altitude above the 1-bar pressure level (km; negative = below 1-bar) |
| `pressure_bar` | float64 | Ambient atmospheric pressure (bar) |
| `pressure_mbar` | float64 | Ambient atmospheric pressure (millibar) — entry phase only |
| `temperature_k` | float64 | Atmospheric temperature (Kelvin) |
| `density_kg_m3` | float64 | Atmospheric mass density (kg/m^3) |
| `mean_molecular_weight_amu` | float64 | Mean molecular weight (AMU) — entry phase only |
| `cp_over_cv` | float64 | Ratio of specific heats — entry phase only |
| `gas_constant_j_kg_k` | float64 | Specific gas constant R (J/kg/K) — entry phase only |
| `gravity_m_s2` | float64 | Local gravitational acceleration (m/s^2) — descent phase only |
| `descent_velocity_m_s` | float64 | Probe descent velocity (m/s) — descent phase only |
| `temperature_gradient_k_km` | float64 | Temperature lapse rate dT/dz (K/km) — descent phase only |
| `velocity_km_s` | float64 | Probe velocity relative to atmosphere (km/s) — entry phase only |
| `flight_path_angle_deg` | float64 | Flight path angle relative to atmosphere (degrees) — entry phase only |
| `latitude_deg` | float64 | Planetocentric latitude (degrees) — entry phase only |
| `longitude_deg` | float64 | System III west longitude (degrees) — entry phase only |

## Quick stats

- **686** atmospheric measurements (entry + descent)
- Altitude range: **1029 km** to **-133 km** (above 1-bar level)
- Pressure range: **9.66e-10 bar** to **22.05 bar**
- Temperature range: **107 K** to **904 K**
- Date: December 7, 1995

## Usage

```python
from datasets import load_dataset

ds = load_dataset("juliensimon/galileo-jupiter-atmosphere", split="train")
df = ds.to_pandas()

# Full temperature profile
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
plt.plot(df["temperature_k"], df["altitude_km"])
plt.xlabel("Temperature (K)")
plt.ylabel("Altitude above 1-bar (km)")
plt.title("Jupiter Temperature Profile — Galileo Probe")
plt.grid(True)
plt.show()

# Descent phase only — pressure vs temperature
descent = df[df["phase"] == "descent"]
plt.semilogy(descent["temperature_k"], descent["pressure_bar"])
plt.xlabel("Temperature (K)")
plt.ylabel("Pressure (bar)")
plt.gca().invert_yaxis()
plt.title("Jupiter T-P Profile (Descent Phase)")
plt.show()

# Entry phase — upper atmosphere density
entry = df[df["phase"] == "entry"]
plt.semilogy(entry["density_kg_m3"], entry["altitude_km"])
plt.xlabel("Density (kg/m^3)")
plt.ylabel("Altitude (km)")
plt.title("Jupiter Upper Atmosphere Density")
plt.show()
```

## Data source

[NASA PDS Atmospheres Node — Galileo Probe ASI](https://pds-atmospheres.nmsu.edu/PDS/data/gp_0001/data/asi/).
Data from the Atmospheric Structure Instrument (ASI) on the Galileo Probe, archived by the
Planetary Data System. Reference: Seiff et al. (1998), "Thermal structure of Jupiter's atmosphere
near the edge of a 5-micron hot spot in the north equatorial belt",
*J. Geophys. Res.*, 103(E10), 22857-22889.

## Update schedule

Static dataset (one-time upload). The Galileo Probe entered Jupiter on December 7, 1995.

## Related datasets

- [deep-space-probes](https://huggingface.co/datasets/juliensimon/deep-space-probes) — Voyager 1/2 and Pioneer 10/11 merged hourly data
- [jupiter-magnetosphere](https://huggingface.co/datasets/juliensimon/jupiter-magnetosphere) — Juno magnetometer data at Jupiter

## Pipeline

Source code: [juliensimon/space-datasets](https://github.com/juliensimon/space-datasets)

## Support

If you find this dataset useful, please give it a ❤️ on the [dataset page](https://huggingface.co/datasets/juliensimon/galileo-jupiter-atmosphere) and share feedback in the Community tab! Also consider giving a ⭐ to the [space-datasets](https://github.com/juliensimon/space-datasets) repo.

## Citation

```bibtex
@dataset{galileo_jupiter_atmosphere,
author = {Simon, Julien},
title = {Galileo Probe Jupiter Atmospheric Profile},
year = {2026},
publisher = {Hugging Face},
url = {https://huggingface.co/datasets/juliensimon/galileo-jupiter-atmosphere},
note = {Based on NASA/PDS Galileo Probe Atmospheric Structure Instrument (ASI) data. Original PI: A. Seiff (NASA Ames)}
}
```

## License

[CC-BY-4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)