PARIS, March 5 (UPI) -- European Space Agency and NASA astronomers are joining forces to observe Jupiter during the next few weeks with two different spacecraft.
The ESA's Rosetta spacecraft will monitor Jupiter from its position near Mars, while the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's New Horizons spacecraft will obtain close-up data as it speeds past Jupiter on its journey to Pluto.
"This is an excellent opportunity to test both spacecraft and to collect valuable science data," said Gerhard Schwehm, Rosetta's mission manager.
"We couldn't pass up this opportunity to study Jupiter's meteorology, rings, aurorae, satellites, and magnetosphere," added Alan Stern, New Horizon's principal investigator.
The idea for the joint observations came from Stern. As well as leading the NASA project, he is also the principal investigator for Rosetta's ALICE instrument -- an ultraviolet imaging spectrometer designed to analyze gases being produced by Rosetta's target comet.
The ESA said Rosetta will study Jupiter for 6-8 days during the next few weeks. Launched March 2, 2004, the spacecraft is en route to rendezvous with comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014.
