Exploration of Jupiter its first Large mission, replacing its contribution to EJSM, the "Jupiter Ganymede Orbiter" (JGO). The partnership for the Europa Jupiter System Mission has since ended, but NASA will continue to contribute the European mission with hardware and an instrument. The "Europa Clipper" is a mission proposed to NASA to focus on studying Jupiter's moon Europa. In March 2013, funds were authorized for "pre-formulation and/or formulation activities for a mission that meets the science goals outlined for the Jupiter Europa mission in the most recent planetary decadal survey". The proposed mission would be set to launch in the early 2020s and
History of Mars observation hours. He made a rough estimate of the diameter of Mars, guessing that it is about 60% of the size of the Earth, which compares well with the modern value of 53%. Perhaps the first definitive mention of Mars's southern polar ice cap was by the Italian astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini, in 1666. That same year, he used observations of the surface markings on Mars to determine a rotation period of 24 40. This differs from the currently-accepted value by less than three minutes. In 1672, Huygens noticed a fuzzy white cap at the north pole. After Cassini became the