In a recent flyby of Jupiter's moon Io, the Galileo spacecraft captured images of a giant volcanic eruption on the moon's surface. The hot lava fountains were so large and high, they were even visible from the Earth-based Infrared telescope on Mauna Kea. The newly built Ariane 5 rocket has the ability to carry 6.2 tonnes into orbit, and there are plans in the works to double this by 2005. The business of putting objects into orbit has become fiercely competitive. The telescope will be used to help map the edges of black holes in space and measure extreme sources of heat and energy.
All indications say that the telescope is functioning perfectly.
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