Volcanism on Io in the context of "Voyager 1"

Theoretical planetology, also known as theoretical planetary science is a branch of planetary sciences that developed in the 20th century. Scientific models supported by laboratory experiments are used to understand the formation, evolution, and internal structure of planets.

The exploration of Jupiter has been conducted via close observations by automated spacecraft. It began with the arrival of Pioneer 10 into the Jovian system in 1973, and, as of 2024, has continued with eight further spacecraft missions in the vicinity of Jupiter and two more en route. All but one of these missions were undertaken by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and all but four were flybys taking detailed observations without landing or entering orbit. These probes make Jupiter the most visited of the Solar System's outer planets as all missions to the outer Solar System have used Jupiter flybys. On July 5, 2016, spacecraft Juno arrived and entered the planet's orbit—the second craft ever to do so. Sending a craft to Jupiter is difficult due to large fuel requirements and the effects of the planet's harsh radiation environment.

The first spacecraft to visit Jupiter was Pioneer 10 in 1973, followed a year later by Pioneer 11. Aside from taking the first close-up pictures of the planet, the probes discovered its magnetosphere and its largely fluid interior. The Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 probes visited the planet in 1979, and studied its moons and the ring system, discovering the volcanic activity of Io and the presence of water ice on the surface of Europa. Ulysses, intended to observe the Sun's poles, further studied Jupiter's magnetosphere in 1992 and then again in 2004. The Saturn-bound Cassini probe approached the planet in 2000 and took very detailed images of its atmosphere. The Pluto-bound New Horizons spacecraft passed by Jupiter in 2007 and made improved measurements of its and its satellites' parameters.