... December 8, 1995 . Descent To Jupiter . ... Explanation: Hours ago , at about 5:00 pm EST (2200 GMT) December 7, Galileo's descent probe slammed into Jupiter's atmosphere . Above is an artist's vision of the probe's planned descent from a dramatic perspective. ... NASA controllers have received telemetry signals from the orbiter indicating that it has recorded the probe's transmissions and has subsequently successfully fired its rocket engine entering orbit around Jupiter. ... About APOD | ...