Curtis Granderson

Curtis Granderson Jr. (born March 16, 1981), nicknamed the Grandyman, is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays, Milwaukee Brewers, and Miami Marlins.

Granderson played college baseball at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He was selected by the Tigers in the 2002 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut with the Tigers in 2004. Granderson is a three-time MLB All-Star, and won a Silver Slugger Award in 2011. As of 2019, he led active players in career triples, was 2nd in career strikeouts, was 5th in career home runs, and was the 6th-oldest player in the National League.

Off the field, Granderson is recognized for his commitment to the community through outreach and charity work. Many of his charitable endeavors support inner-city children. He has also served as an ambassador for MLB abroad. Granderson won the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award four times and the Roberto Clemente Award in 2016 in recognition of his contributions in the community.

## Early years

Granderson grew up in Blue Island, Illinois, and Lynwood, Illinois, south suburbs of Chicago. His father, Curtis Sr., was a dean and physical education teacher at Nathan Hale Elementary School in Illinois. His mother, Mary, taught chemistry at Curie Metropolitan High School in Chicago. Granderson's half-sister, Monica, is an English professor at Jackson State University.

As a child, Granderson grew up a fan of the Atlanta Braves, choosing not to root for the hometown Chicago Cubs because he often rushed home from school to watch Saved by the Bell and was disappointed when a Cubs game was on instead. Granderson attended Thornton Fractional South High School (T.F. South) in Lansing, where he played baseball and basketball. During his high school baseball career, Granderson batted .369 with 11 home runs and 88 runs batted in (RBI), and was named an All-State selection his senior year. Granderson wore uniform number 14 at T.F. South, choosing it because his father wore it while playing softball. T.F. South honored Granderson by retiring his jersey in a December 2011 ceremony.

## College career

Granderson was pursued in recruitment by a number of college baseball programs, and he chose the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), in part because they allowed him to play basketball in addition to baseball. However, Granderson quit basketball two weeks into his freshman year in order to concentrate on baseball. As a freshman at UIC in 2000, Granderson led the UIC Flames baseball team with seven home runs and 45 walks. He followed that by hitting .304 as a sophomore, leading the team in runs, home runs, and walks. After his sophomore year, Granderson played in a summer collegiate league for the Mankato Mashers, now known as the MoonDogs, of the Northwoods League, where he batted .328 in 44 games, with eight doubles, two triples, one home run, 17 RBI, 28 runs scored, and 15 stolen bases. He wore the number 28, which the MoonDogs retired on May 29, 2023.

During his junior season at UIC, Granderson batted .483, second in the nation to Rickie Weeks. Granderson was named Second-Team All-American by Baseball America and USA Today'''s Baseball Weekly and a Third-Team Louisville Slugger NCAA Division I All-American. He graduated from UIC with a double major in business administration and business marketing. On February 6, 2013 Granderson had his number 28 retired by UIC.

## Professional career

### Minor leagues

The Detroit Tigers selected Granderson in the third round of the 2002 MLB draft. The Tigers assigned Granderson to the Oneonta Tigers, their Minor League Baseball affiliate in the Class A-Short Season New York-Penn League. With Oneonta, Granderson batted .344 in 52 games. Determined to complete his college education, though the fall semester began before the minor league season ended, Granderson made arrangements to begin his senior year at UIC via internet courses.

The Tigers assigned Granderson to the Lakeland Tigers of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League in 2003 and the Erie SeaWolves of the Class AA Eastern League in 2004. With the SeaWolves, Granderson hit .303 with 21 home runs and 93 RBIs. Baseball America named Granderson the Tigers' minor league player of the year and top prospect after the 2004 season. Prior to the 2005 season, Baseball America rated Granderson as the 57th best prospect in baseball. Granderson competed for the role as the Tigers' starting center fielder in 2005 spring training, but the organization decided he needed more seasoning, and assigned him to the Toledo Mud Hens of the Class AAA International League. With Toledo, he hit .290 with 15 home runs, 65 RBIs and 22 stolen bases.

### Detroit Tigers

#### 2004–2005

The Tigers promoted Granderson to MLB for the first time in September 2004. He made his MLB debut on September 13 against the Minnesota Twins. He received his second promotion to the majors in July 2005, and he appeared in six games. After his third promotion to MLB, in August, he remained in the majors permanently. Granderson had his first career MLB inside-the-park home run on September 15, a five-hit game September 18 and a walk-off home run on September 26 against the Chicago White Sox.

#### 2006

Granderson became the Tigers starting center fielder for the 2006 season after beating out Nook Logan for the position during spring training. From the start of his major league career in 2004, Granderson began a 151-game errorless streak, the longest by a position player to start his career since Dave Roberts went errorless in 205 games. Granderson hit two home runs during the 2006 American League Division Series and one in the 2006 American League Championship Series, but struggled in the 2006 World Series, batting .095, as the Cardinals defeated the Tigers.

#### 2007

Through June, Granderson ranked first among American League (AL) outfielders in triples (14), third in doubles (22), tied for fourth in runs (58) and tied for 10th in homers (11) with a .289 batting average in the 2007 season. Although Granderson was not listed on the 2007 All-Star Game ballot, due to the Tigers' decision to put Gary Sheffield as an outfielder on the ballot, he still received 376,033 write-in votes, the most write-in votes for any player. Granderson was named the AL Player of the Week on July 16, the first time he had won the award, as he hit .500 (8 for 16) with two doubles, a triple, and a home run during that week. Granderson slugged .938, drove in two runs, scored seven runs, and had fifteen total bases during Detroit's four-game series against the Seattle Mariners.

On August 7, Granderson became the second player in franchise history to have at least 30 doubles, 15 triples, 15 home runs, and ten stolen bases in a single season when he hit a double in a game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The other Tiger to accomplish this feat was Charlie Gehringer in 1930. He became the sixth member of baseball's 20–20–20 club on September 7, joining the Kansas City Royals' George Brett (1979), Willie Mays of the New York Giants (1957), Cleveland's Jeff Heath (1941), St. Louis' Jim Bottomley (1928), and Frank Schulte of the Chicago Cubs (1911). Granderson stole his 20th base of the season on September 9, joining Mays and Schulte as the only players in major league history to reach 20 doubles, 20 triples, 20 home runs, and 20 stolen bases in a season, a feat accomplished by the Philadelphia Phillies' Jimmy Rollins 21 days later.

Granderson hit .302 with 23 home runs for the season, and was 26 for 27 in stolen base attempts. He also improved his plate discipline, as he finished seventh in the AL in strikeouts with 141. He was one of only six batters in the AL to have at least 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases, along with teammate Gary Sheffield, Ian Kinsler, Alex Rodriguez, Grady Sizemore and B. J. Upton.

During the 2007 season, Granderson accumulated 23 triples, which led all of baseball. The American League and Detroit Tigers record is 26 triples, a feat achieved by the all-time triples king, Sam Crawford, in 1914. Granderson is the first player since 1949 to manage at least 23 in a single season. Only ten of his triples were at home despite the fact Comerica Park has seen more triples since it opened in 2000 than any other ballpark in baseball. Granderson joined the 20-20-30-20 club, having more than 20 triples, 20 home runs, 30 doubles, and 20 stolen bases. The last player to accomplish the feat was Wildfire Schulte in 1911. Granderson's 23 triples were as much or more than six entire teams managed in 2007; the Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners and St. Louis Cardinals all had no more than 23 team triples.

#### 2008–2009

Prior to the start of the 2008 season, the Tigers signed Granderson to a five-year, US\$30.25 million contract with a club option for 2013. Granderson continued hitting well during the 2008 regular season, finishing with a .280 batting average, 13 triples and 22 home runs. He continued to improve his plate discipline, striking out only 111 times (versus 141 in 2007 and 174 in 2006) and drawing a career-high 71 walks. During August, he hit six triples, including two in consecutive innings during a game against the Texas Rangers.

With the Tigers failing to make the playoffs in 2007 and 2008, TBS employed Granderson as a commentator alongside Cal Ripken Jr., Dennis Eckersley and Frank Thomas for its coverage of the 2007 and 2008 postseasons.

Granderson was chosen to appear in the 2009 MLB All-Star Game. It was his first All Star appearance. In the game, he hit a triple in the top of the 8th inning and scored the winning run.

### New York Yankees

#### 2010

After the 2009 season, the Tigers began shopping Granderson to other franchises in an effort to reduce their payroll. The Yankees acquired Granderson in a three-team trade on December 9. In the deal, the Yankees received Granderson while sending Phil Coke and centerfielder Austin Jackson to Detroit. Also, the Arizona Diamondbacks received Yankees pitcher Ian Kennedy and Tigers pitcher Edwin Jackson in return for young pitchers Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth, who joined the Tigers.

Granderson hit a home run in his first Yankee at bat on April 4, 2010, becoming the twelfth player to do so. Although he missed some games due to a strained groin, Granderson finished the season with 136 games played, a .247 batting average, and 24 home runs. Granderson, who struggled against left-handed pitching throughout his career, also put up subpar numbers against right-handed pitchers, causing Granderson to revamp his swing with the help of hitting coach Kevin Long in August 2010.

#### 2011

Granderson's work with Long was credited as a reason for his strong 2011 campaign. Granderson received over 6.6 million votes for the 2011 MLB All-Star Game. In August 2011, Granderson and Mark Teixeira became the first Yankees teammates to hit 30 home runs in 115 games since Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle in 1961. On August 10, Granderson hit two home runs against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to tally a career-high 31 home runs. Granderson, Robinson Canó, and Russell Martin all hit grand slams in a game against the Oakland Athletics on August 25, the first time a team had three grand slams in one game. Granderson was named American League Player of the Month for August 2011, in which he batted .286, with a .423 on-base percentage, slugged .657, hit ten home runs, recorded 29 RBI, and scored 29 runs, and had the highest number of pitches per plate appearance in the major leagues (4.44). He became the first player in MLB history to record 40 home runs, 10 triples and 25 stolen bases in one season. Granderson finished fourth in balloting for the American League Most Valuable Player Award.

#### 2012

On May 6, 2012, Curtis achieved his 1,000th hit against the Kansas City Royals. On August 26, 2012, Granderson hit his 200th career home run against the Cleveland Indians. He finished the 2012 season with a .232 batting average, 43 home runs, 106 RBI, and set a new Yankees season record by striking out 195 times.

#### 2013

On October 19, the Yankees exercised Granderson's club option for 2013. Originally worth \$13 million, it became a \$15 million option after he placed 4th in the MVP voting in 2011. In his spring training debut against the Toronto Blue Jays on February 24, 2013, Granderson was hit by a pitch from J. A. Happ that fractured his right forearm. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list to begin the 2013 season. He returned to the Yankees on May 14. On May 18, 2013, Granderson made his first start at right field. On May 24, 2013, Granderson broke the knuckle of his left pinkie finger after getting hit by Tampa Bay's Cesar Ramos's pitch in the 5th inning. He was again placed on the 15-day disabled list. On May 29, 2013, Granderson underwent surgery in which a pin was inserted to the knuckle to stabilize the fracture. On August 2, 2013, Granderson was activated from the disabled list. Granderson was limited to only 61 games in 2013 batting .229 with 7 home runs and 15 RBI. He became a free agent for the first time of his career after the season.

### New York Mets

#### 2014

Granderson agreed to terms with the New York Mets on a four-year contract worth \$60 million on December 6, 2013. Granderson's salaries were set at \$13 million in 2014, \$16 million in 2015 and 2016, and \$15 million in 2017. On May 12, Granderson returned to Yankee Stadium for the first time since he signed with the Mets, and went 2 for 5 with a home run. The Mets played Granderson as their right fielder. He started 148 games with 130 in right field. He batted .227, and had the highest number of pitches per plate appearance in the major leagues (4.37). Granderson played in a total of 205 games between May 15, 2013 and September 16, 2014, during which time he did not ground into a double play, a record which still stands as of 2020.

#### 2015

In 2015, he became the team's primary leadoff hitter. He went on to lead the team in games played, runs scored, hits, stolen bases, walks, on-base percentage and total bases en route to a National League East division title. In the third game of the National League Division Series, Granderson picked up five RBI – this tied a Mets single game postseason record previously set by Carlos Delgado in the 2006 National League Championship Series, Edgardo Alfonzo in the 1999 NLCS and Rusty Staub in the 1973 World Series. After beating the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games in the NLDS, the Mets went on to sweep the Chicago Cubs in four games in the NLCS and advance to their first World Series since 2000.

Granderson and Daniel Murphy were the two most productive hitters in the Mets lineup during their 2015 postseason run to the World Series. While Murphy cooled off in the World Series against the Kansas City Royals, Granderson continued to be a consistent threat for the Mets out of the leadoff spot and also had three home runs and five RBIs in that World Series. In Game 1, after the Royals tied the game in the ninth inning with a home run off Mets closer Jeurys Familia, Granderson made an excellent leaping catch with nobody out in the bottom of the 11th inning, off the bat of the Royals fastest runner Jarrod Dyson, preventing what would have at least been a lead off triple and likely saving the game at the time, though the Royals would go on to win the game anyway in the bottom of the 14th inning on a sacrifice fly by Eric Hosmer.

#### 2016–2017

On May 27, 2016, Granderson hit a walk-off home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was the first batter up in the bottom of the 9th inning. As of June 16, 2016, Granderson had hit 17 leadoff homers since joining the Mets in 2014, a franchise record. On September 17, Granderson hit two solo home runs against the Minnesota Twins at Citi Field. The first tied the ballgame in the bottom of the 11th inning and the second won the game in the bottom of the 12th inning. He became only the eighth player in Major League history to hit multiple home runs in extra innings of the same game. In the National League Wild Card Game against the San Francisco Giants on October 5, Granderson made an incredible catch to save several runs from scoring late in the close game.

On June 14, 2017, Granderson hit his 300th career home run in a Mets win over the Chicago Cubs. He batted .228 with the Mets in 2017, and for the season had the highest number of pitches per plate appearance in the major leagues (4.52).

### Later career

#### Los Angeles Dodgers

On August 18, 2017, the Mets traded Granderson to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a player to be named later, identified as Jacob Rhame. He hit his first home run for the Dodgers on August 20 against Justin Verlander of the Tigers. After hitting a grand slam home run in his last at-bat for the Mets on August 17, he hit one for the Dodgers on August 21 and became the first player in MLB history to hit grand slams for two different teams within the same week. The following day, he stole his 150th career base, becoming the 36th player in MLB history with over 300 home runs and 150 or more steals. He batted .161/.288/.366 for the Dodgers, in 112 at bats. He was 1-for-15 with eight strikeouts in the first two rounds of the playoffs, and the Dodgers left him off the World Series roster.

#### Toronto Blue Jays

On January 23, 2018, Granderson signed a one-year, \$5 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. On April 18, facing the Kansas City Royals, Granderson hit his ninth career grand slam. On April 24, Granderson hit his first walk-off home run since 2016 in a 10th inning victory against the Boston Red Sox. On May 15, Granderson returned to Citi Field for the first time since he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers on August 18, 2017 and went 1 for 4 with a single. On June 10, against the Baltimore Orioles, Granderson hit for a career high six RBIs with a home run, two doubles, a single and a walk. On June 25, while playing the Houston Astros, Granderson hit his eighth and ninth home runs of the season off of former teammate Justin Verlander to lead the Jays to victory.

#### Milwaukee Brewers

On August 31, 2018, the Blue Jays traded Granderson to the Milwaukee Brewers for Demi Orimoloye. He batted .220 for the Brewers. Granderson was a part of the 2018 playoff team.

#### Miami Marlins

On February 5, 2019, Granderson signed a minor league contract with the Miami Marlins that included an invitation to spring training and provided him with a \$1.75 million salary if he made the major league roster, which he did - batting .189 in the first half of the season.

For the 2019 season he batted .183/.281/.356 in 317 at bats, with his on base percentage and slugging percentages both career lows. He was the sixth-oldest player in the National League.

### Retirement and post-playing career

Granderson announced his retirement from baseball on January 31, 2020. As of 2021, he serves as the president of the Players Alliance, an organization of active and former Major League players that works to increase opportunities for black athletes to participate in professional baseball. As of 2022, Granderson is a host for MLB on TBS.

## Personal life

Granderson is a fan of WWE, and attended WrestleMania 23 in Detroit. He considers The Ultimate Warrior, The Undertaker, Junkyard Dog and "Macho Man" Randy Savage to be his favorite wrestlers. He is also an avid fan of college basketball and of the Kansas Jayhawks.

Off the field, Granderson has served as an ambassador for Major League Baseball International. He has traveled to England, Italy, the Netherlands, France, South Africa, China, New Zealand, South Korea and Japan to promote baseball. In appreciation for his efforts, Commissioner Bud Selig penned a thank you letter to Granderson which read in part, "There are so many fine young men playing Major League baseball today, but I can think of no one who is better suited to represent our national pastime than you." He has also served as something of an unofficial baseball ambassador to the African-American community, often participating in and initiating dialogue about the lack of Black players at all levels of the sport. When he endorsed Nike, Inc., Louisville Slugger and Rawlings, he asked them to donate money to his foundation or equipment to inner-city baseball programs rather than pay him.

His foundation, Grand Kids Foundation, has raised money to benefit the educations of inner-city children around the country. Granderson wrote a children's book, All You Can Be: Dream It, Draw It, Become It!, which was published in August 2009. The book is illustrated by students of the New York City public school system. In February 2010, Granderson represented MLB at a White House function announcing Let's Move!, a childhood anti-obesity effort sponsored by First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama. Granderson donated \$5 million to help UIC build a new baseball stadium in 2013.

Granderson has been involved in the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) since 2006. He has taken part in negotiations of the labor contract. Granderson was chosen as the 2009 Marvin Miller Man of the Year by the MLBPA for his off-field work, an award he won again in 2016, 2018 and 2019.

In 2011, Granderson was also voted one of the friendliest players in the Major Leagues, according to a poll conducted by Sports Illustrated'' of 290 players. During his playing career, Granderson wore his socks high to honor players from the Negro leagues.

## Publications

## See also

- 20–20–20 club
- List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders

American baseball player (born 1981)

American expatriate baseball players in Canada

Baseball players from Cook County, Illinois

World Baseball Classic players of the United States


Exploration of Jupiter

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 2023, has continued with eight further spacecraft missions in the vicinity of Jupiter. All of these missions were undertaken by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and all but two 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 5 July 2016, spacecraft Juno arrived and entered the planet's orbit—the second craft ever to do so. Sending a craft to Jupiter is difficult, mostly 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 further studied Jupiter's magnetosphere in 1992 and then again in 2004. The Cassini probe approached the planet in 2000 and took very detailed images of its atmosphere. The New Horizons spacecraft passed by Jupiter in 2007 and made improved measurements of its and its satellites' parameters.

The Galileo spacecraft was the first to have entered orbit around Jupiter, arriving in 1995 and studying the planet until 2003. During this period Galileo gathered a large amount of information about the Jovian system, making close approaches to all of the four large Galilean moons and finding evidence for thin atmospheres on three of them, as well as the possibility of liquid water beneath their surfaces. It also discovered a magnetic field around Ganymede. As it approached Jupiter, it also witnessed the impact of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9. In December 1995, it sent an atmospheric probe into the Jovian atmosphere, so far the only craft to do so.

In July 2016, the Juno spacecraft, launched in 2011, completed its orbital insertion maneuver successfully, and is now in orbit around Jupiter with its science programme ongoing.

The European Space Agency selected the L1-class JUICE mission in 2012 as part of its Cosmic Vision programme to explore three of Jupiter's Galilean moons, with a possible Ganymede lander provided by Roscosmos. JUICE was launched on April 14, 2023. The Russian lander did not materialize in the end.

NASA plans to launch a spacecraft, Europa Clipper, to study the moon Europa in 2024.

The Chinese National Space Administration plans to launch two Interstellar Express missions in 2024 on a flyby of Jupiter and Tianwen-4 around 2029 to explore the planet and Callisto.

A list of previous and upcoming missions to the outer Solar System (including Jupiter) can be found at the List of missions to the outer planets article.

## Technical requirements

Flights from Earth to other planets in the Solar System have a high energy cost. It requires almost the same amount of energy for a spacecraft to reach Jupiter from Earth's orbit as it does to lift it into orbit in the first place. In astrodynamics, this energy expenditure is defined by the net change in the spacecraft's velocity, or delta-v. The energy needed to reach Jupiter from an Earth orbit requires a delta-v of about 9 km/s, compared to the 9.0–9.5 km/s to reach a low Earth orbit from the ground. Gravity assists through planetary flybys (such as by Earth or Venus) can be used to reduce the energetic requirement (i.e. the fuel) at launch, at the cost of a significantly longer flight duration to reach a target such as Jupiter when compared to the direct trajectory. Ion thrusters capable of a delta-v of more than 10 km/s were used on the Dawn spacecraft. This is more than enough delta-v to do a Jupiter fly-by mission from a solar orbit of the same radius as that of Earth without gravity assist.

A major problem in sending space probes to Jupiter is that the planet has no solid surface on which to land, as there is a smooth transition between the planet's atmosphere and its fluid interior. Any probes descending into the atmosphere are eventually crushed by the immense pressures within Jupiter.

Another major issue is the amount of radiation to which a space probe is subjected, due to the harsh charged-particle environment around Jupiter (for a detailed explanation see Magnetosphere of Jupiter). For example, when Pioneer 11 made its closest approach to the planet, the level of radiation was ten times more powerful than Pioneer's designers had predicted, leading to fears that the probes would not survive. With a few minor glitches, the probe managed to pass through the radiation belts, but it lost most of the images of the moon Io, as the radiation had caused Pioneer's imaging photo polarimeter to receive false commands. The subsequent and far more technologically advanced Voyager spacecraft had to be redesigned to cope with the radiation levels. Over the eight years the Galileo spacecraft orbited the planet, the probe's radiation dose far exceeded its design specifications, and its systems failed on several occasions. The spacecraft's gyroscopes often exhibited increased errors, and electrical arcs sometimes occurred between its rotating and non-rotating parts, causing it to enter safe mode, which led to total loss of the data from the 16th, 18th and 33rd orbits. The radiation also caused phase shifts in Galileo's ultra-stable quartz oscillator.

## Flyby missions

### Pioneer program (1973 and 1974)

The first spacecraft to explore Jupiter was Pioneer 10, which flew past the planet in December 1973, followed by Pioneer 11 twelve months later. Pioneer 10 obtained the first close-up images of Jupiter and its Galilean moons; the spacecraft studied the planet's atmosphere, detected its magnetic field, observed its radiation belts and determined that Jupiter is mainly fluid. Pioneer 11 made its closest approach, within some 34,000 km of Jupiter's cloud tops, on December 4, 1974. It obtained dramatic images of the Great Red Spot, made the first observation of Jupiter's immense polar regions, and determined the mass of Jupiter's moon Callisto. The information gathered by these two spacecraft helped astronomers and engineers improve the design of future probes to cope more effectively with the environment around the giant planet.

### Voyager program (1979)

Voyager 1 began photographing Jupiter in January 1979 and made its closest approach on March 5, 1979, at a distance of 349,000 km from Jupiter's center. This close approach allowed for greater image resolution, though the flyby's short duration meant that most observations of Jupiter's moons, rings, magnetic field, and radiation environment were made in the 48-hour period bracketing the approach, even though Voyager 1 continued photographing the planet until April. It was soon followed by Voyager 2, which made its closest approach on July 9, 1979, 576,000 km away from the planet's cloud tops. The probe discovered Jupiter's ring, observed intricate vortices in its atmosphere, observed active volcanoes on Io, a process analogous to plate tectonics on Ganymede, and numerous craters on Callisto.

The Voyager missions vastly improved our understanding of the Galilean moons, and also discovered Jupiter's rings. They also took the first close-up images of the planet's atmosphere, revealing the Great Red Spot as a complex storm moving in a counter-clockwise direction. Other smaller storms and eddies were found throughout the banded clouds (see animation on the right). Two new, small satellites, Adrastea and Metis, were discovered orbiting just outside the ring, making them the first of Jupiter's moons to be identified by a spacecraft. A third new satellite, Thebe, was discovered between the orbits of Amalthea and Io.

The discovery of volcanic activity on the moon Io was the greatest unexpected finding of the mission, as it was the first time an active volcano was observed on a celestial body other than Earth. Together, the Voyagers recorded the eruption of nine volcanoes on Io, as well as evidence for other eruptions occurring between the Voyager encounters.

Europa displayed a large number of intersecting linear features in the low-resolution photos from Voyager 1. At first, scientists believed the features might be deep cracks, caused by crustal rifting or tectonic processes. The high-resolution photos from Voyager 2, taken closer to Jupiter, left scientists puzzled as the features in these photos were almost entirely lacking in topographic relief. This led many to suggest that these cracks might be similar to ice floes on Earth, and that Europa might have a liquid water interior. Europa may be internally active due to tidal heating at a level about one-tenth that of Io, and as a result, the moon is thought to have a thin crust less than 30 kilometers (19 mi) thick of water ice, possibly floating on a 50-kilometer-deep (31 mi) ocean.

### Ulysses (1992, 2004)

On February 8, 1992, the Ulysses solar probe flew past Jupiter's north pole at a distance of 451,000 km. This swing-by maneuver was required for Ulysses to attain a very high-inclination orbit around the Sun, increasing its inclination to the ecliptic to 80.2 degrees. The giant planet's gravity bent the spacecraft's flightpath downward and away from the ecliptic plane, placing it into a final orbit around the Sun's north and south poles. The size and shape of the probe's orbit were adjusted to a much smaller degree, so that its aphelion remained at approximately 5 AU (Jupiter's distance from the Sun), while its perihelion lay somewhat beyond 1 AU (Earth's distance from the Sun). During its Jupiter encounter, the probe made measurements of the planet's magnetosphere. Since the probe had no cameras, no images were taken. In February 2004, the probe arrived again at the vicinity of Jupiter. This time the distance from the planet was much greater—about 120 million km (0.8 AU)—but it made further observations of Jupiter.

### Cassini (2000)

In 2000, the Cassini probe, en route to Saturn, flew by Jupiter and provided some of the highest-resolution images ever taken of the planet. It made its closest approach on December 30, 2000, and made many scientific measurements. About 26,000 images of Jupiter were taken during the months-long flyby. It produced the most detailed global color portrait of Jupiter yet, in which the smallest visible features are approximately 60 km (37 mi) across.

A major finding of the flyby, announced on March 5, 2003, was of Jupiter's atmospheric circulation. Dark belts alternate with light zones in the atmosphere, and the zones, with their pale clouds, had previously been considered by scientists to be areas of upwelling air, partly because on Earth clouds tend to be formed by rising air. Analysis of Cassini imagery showed that the dark belts contain individual storm cells of upwelling bright-white clouds, too small to see from Earth. Anthony Del Genio of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies said that "the belts must be the areas of net-rising atmospheric motion on Jupiter, [so] the net motion in the zones has to be sinking".

Other atmospheric observations included a swirling dark oval of high atmospheric-haze, about the size of the Great Red Spot, near Jupiter's north pole. Infrared imagery revealed aspects of circulation near the poles, with bands of globe-encircling winds, and adjacent bands moving in opposite directions. The same announcement also discussed the nature of Jupiter's rings. Light scattering by particles in the rings showed the particles were irregularly shaped (rather than spherical) and likely originated as ejecta from micrometeorite impacts on Jupiter's moons, probably on Metis and Adrastea. On December 19, 2000, the Cassini spacecraft captured a very-low-resolution image of the moon Himalia, but it was too distant to show any surface details.

### New Horizons (2007)

The New Horizons probe, en route to Pluto, flew by Jupiter for a gravity assist and was the first probe launched directly towards Jupiter since the Ulysses in 1990. Its Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) took its first photographs of Jupiter on September 4, 2006. The spacecraft began further study of the Jovian system in December 2006, and made its closest approach on February 28, 2007.

Although close to Jupiter, New Horizons' instruments made refined measurements of the orbits of Jupiter's inner moons, particularly Amalthea. The probe's cameras measured volcanoes on Io, studied all four Galilean moons in detail, and made long-distance studies of the outer moons Himalia and Elara. The craft also studied Jupiter's Little Red Spot and the planet's magnetosphere and tenuous ring system.

On March 19, 2007, the Command and Data Handling computer experienced an uncorrectable memory error and rebooted itself, causing the spacecraft to go into safe mode. The craft fully recovered within two days, with some data loss on Jupiter's magnetotail. No other data loss events were associated with the encounter. Due to the immense size of the Jupiter system and the relative closeness of the Jovian system to Earth in comparison to the closeness of Pluto to Earth, New Horizons sent back more data to Earth from the Jupiter encounter than the Pluto encounter.

## Orbiter missions

### Galileo (1995–2003)

The first spacecraft to orbit Jupiter was the Galileo orbiter, which went into orbit around Jupiter on December 7, 1995. It orbited the planet for over seven years, making 35 orbits before it was destroyed during a controlled impact with Jupiter on September 21, 2003. During this period, it gathered a large amount of information about the Jovian system; the amount of information was not as great as intended because the deployment of its high-gain radio transmitting antenna failed. The major events during the eight-year study included multiple flybys of all of the Galilean moons, as well as Amalthea (the first probe to do so). It also witnessed the impact of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 as it approached Jupiter in 1994 and released an atmospheric probe into the Jovian atmosphere in December 1995.

Cameras on the Galileo spacecraft observed fragments of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 between 16 and 22 July 1994 as they collided with Jupiter's southern hemisphere at a speed of approximately 60 kilometres per second. This was the first direct observation of an extraterrestrial collision of Solar System objects. While the impacts took place on the side of Jupiter hidden from Earth, Galileo, then at a distance of 1.6 AU from the planet, was able to see the impacts as they occurred. Its instruments detected a fireball that reached a peak temperature of about 24,000 K, compared to the typical Jovian cloudtop temperature of about 130 K (−143 °C), with the plume from the fireball reaching a height of over 3,000 km.

An atmospheric probe was released from the spacecraft in July 1995, entering the planet's atmosphere on December 7, 1995. After a high-g descent into the Jovian atmosphere, the probe discarded the remains of its heat shield, and it parachuted through 150 km of the atmosphere, collecting data for 57.6 minutes, before being crushed by the pressure and temperature to which it was subjected (about 22 times Earth normal, at a temperature of 153 °C). It would have melted thereafter, and possibly vaporized. The Galileo orbiter itself experienced a more rapid version of the same fate when it was deliberately steered into the planet on September 21, 2003, at a speed of over 50 km/s, in order to avoid any possibility of it crashing into and contaminating Europa.

Major scientific results of the Galileo mission include:

- the first observation of ammonia clouds in another planet's atmosphere—the atmosphere creates ammonia ice particles from material coming up from lower depths;
- confirmation of extensive volcanic activity on Io—which is 100 times greater than that found on Earth; the heat and frequency of eruptions are reminiscent of early Earth;
- observation of complex plasma interactions in Io's atmosphere which create immense electrical currents that couple to Jupiter's atmosphere;
- providing evidence for supporting the theory that liquid oceans exist under Europa's icy surface;
- first detection of a substantial magnetic field around a satellite (Ganymede);
- magnetic data evidence suggesting that Europa, Ganymede and Callisto have a liquid-saltwater layer under the visible surface;
- evidence for a thin atmospheric layer on Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto known as a 'surface-bound exosphere';
- understanding of the formation of the rings of Jupiter (by dust kicked up as interplanetary meteoroids which smash into the planet's four small inner moons) and observation of two outer rings and the possibility of a separate ring along Amalthea's orbit;
- identification of the global structure and dynamics of a giant planet's magnetosphere.

On December 11, 2013, NASA reported, based on results from the Galileo mission, the detection of "clay-like minerals" (specifically, phyllosilicates), often associated with organic materials, on the icy crust of Europa, moon of Jupiter. The presence of the minerals may have been the result of a collision with an asteroid or comet according to the scientists.

### Juno (2016-Present)

NASA launched Juno on August 5, 2011, to study Jupiter in detail. It entered a polar orbit of Jupiter on July 5, 2016. The spacecraft is studying the planet's composition, gravity field, magnetic field, and polar magnetosphere. Juno is also searching for clues about how Jupiter formed, including whether the planet has a rocky core, the amount of water present within the deep atmosphere, and how the mass is distributed within the planet. Juno also studies Jupiter's deep winds, which can reach speeds of 600 km/h.

Among early results, Juno gathered information about Jovian lightning that revised earlier theories. Juno provided the first views of Jupiter's north pole, as well as insights about Jupiter's aurorae, magnetic field, and atmosphere.

Juno made many discoveries that are challenging existing theories about Jupiter's formation. When it flew over the poles of Jupiter it imaged clusters of stable cyclones that exist at the poles. It found that the magnetosphere of Jupiter is uneven and chaotic. Using its Microwave Radiometer Juno found that the red and white bands that can be seen on Jupiter extend hundreds of kilometers into the Jovian atmosphere, yet the interior of Jupiter isn't evenly mixed. This has resulted in the theory that Jupiter doesn't have a solid core as previously thought, but a "fuzzy" core made of pieces of rock and metallic hydrogen. This peculiar core may be a result of a collision that happened early on in Jupiter's formation.

### Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (en route)

ESA's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) has been selected as part of ESA's Cosmic Vision science program. It was launched on 14 April 2023 and, after a series of flybys in the inner Solar System, arrives in Jupiter in 2031. In 2012, the European Space Agency's selected the JUICE as 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.

## Proposed missions

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 reach Europa after a 6.5 year cruise. The spacecraft would fly by the moon 32 times to minimize radiation damage. It is currently scheduled to launch on 10 October 2024.

China's CNSA is planning to launch its two Interstellar Express spacecraft in 2024 to flyby Jupiter on the way to explore the heliosphere. Separately, CNSA has announced plans to launch its Tianwen-4 mission to Jupiter around 2030 which will enter orbit around Callisto.

India's ISRO announced plans to launch an Indian mission to Jupiter in the 2020s.

### Canceled missions

Because of the possibility of subsurface liquid oceans on Jupiter's moons Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, there has been great interest in studying the icy moons in detail. Funding difficulties have delayed progress. The Europa Orbiter was a planned NASA mission to Europa, which was canceled in 2002. Its main objectives included determining the presence or absence of a subsurface ocean and identifying candidate sites for future lander missions. NASA's JIMO (Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter), which was canceled in 2005, and a European Jovian Europa Orbiter mission were also studied, but were superseded by the Europa Jupiter System Mission.

The Europa Jupiter System Mission (EJSM) was a joint NASA/ESA proposal for exploration of Jupiter and its moons. In February 2009 it was announced that both space agencies had given this mission priority ahead of the Titan Saturn System Mission. The proposal included a launch date of around 2020 and consisted of the NASA-led Jupiter Europa Orbiter, and the ESA-led Jupiter Ganymede Orbiter. ESA's contribution had encountered funding competition from other ESA projects. However, the Jupiter Europa Orbiter (JEO), NASA's contribution, was considered by the Planetary Decadal Survey to be too expensive. The survey supported a cheaper alternative to JEO. In the end, the whole EJSM mission, with all the proposed spacecraft from NASA and ESA (and JAXA), was cancelled (along with various related Roscosmos proposals). However, the ESA JUICE spacecraft and the NASA Europa Clipper spacecraft, which grew out of the cancelled EJSM, were built later.

## Human exploration

While scientists require further evidence to determine the extent of a rocky core on Jupiter, its Galilean moons provide the potential opportunity for future human exploration.

Particular targets are Europa, due to its potential for life, and Callisto, due to its relatively low radiation dose. In 2003, NASA proposed a program called Human Outer Planets Exploration (HOPE) that involved sending astronauts to explore the Galilean moons. NASA has projected a possible attempt some time in the 2040s. In the Vision for Space Exploration policy announced in January 2004, NASA discussed missions beyond Mars, mentioning that a "human research presence" may be desirable on Jupiter's moons. Before the JIMO mission was cancelled, NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe stated that "human explorers will follow."

### Potential for colonization

NASA has speculated on the feasibility of mining the atmospheres of the outer planets, particularly for helium-3, an isotope of helium that is rare on Earth and could have a very high value per unit mass as thermonuclear fuel. Factories stationed in orbit could mine the gas and deliver it to visiting craft. However, the Jovian system in general poses particular disadvantages for colonization because of the severe radiation conditions prevailing in Jupiter's magnetosphere and the planet's particularly deep gravitational well. Jupiter would deliver about 36 Sv (3600 rem) per day to unshielded colonists at Io and about 5.4 Sv (540 rems) per day to unshielded colonists at Europa, which is a decisive aspect due to the fact that already an exposure to about 0.75 Sv over a period of a few days is enough to cause radiation poisoning, and about 5 Sv over a few days is fatal.

Ganymede is the Solar System's largest moon and the Solar System's only known moon with a magnetosphere, but this does not shield it from cosmic radiation to a noteworthy degree, because it is overshadowed by Jupiter's magnetic field. Ganymede receives about 0.08 Sv (8 rem) of radiation per day. Callisto is farther from Jupiter's strong radiation belt and subject to only 0.0001 Sv (0.01 rem) a day. For comparison, the average amount of radiation taken on Earth by a living organism is about 0.0024 Sv per year; the highest natural radiation levels on Earth are recorded around Ramsar hot springs at about 0.26 Sv per year.

One of the main targets chosen by the HOPE study was Callisto. The possibility of building a surface base on Callisto was proposed, because of the low radiation levels at its distance from Jupiter and its geological stability. Callisto is the only Galilean satellite on which human settlement is feasible. The levels of ionizing radiation on Io, Europa and long-term on Ganymede, are hostile to human life, and adequate protective measures have yet to be devised.

It could be possible to build a surface base that would produce fuel for further exploration of the Solar System. In 1997, the Artemis Project designed a plan to colonize Europa. According to this plan, explorers would drill down into the Europan ice crust, entering the postulated subsurface ocean, where they would inhabit artificial air pockets.

## See also

- Exploration of Mercury
- Exploration of Venus
- Exploration of Mars
- Exploration of Saturn
- Exploration of Uranus
- Exploration of Neptune

Overview of the exploration of Jupiter the planet and its moons

Discovery and exploration of the Solar System


Ng On-yee

Ng On-yee BBS MH (Chinese: 吳安儀; born 17 November 1990) is a Hong Kong former professional snooker player who has won three IBSF World Snooker Championships and three World Women's Snooker world championships. She held the number one position in the World Women's Snooker world ranking list from February 2018 to April 2019.

After competing in several International Billiards and Snooker Federation (IBSF) tournaments, Ng became the youngest-ever IBSF women's world champion at the age of 19 and successfully defended the title the following year. At the 2015 World Ladies Snooker Championship she defeated Reanne Evans—who had held the title for the previous ten years—in the semi-final and won the title. After losing the final of the same tournament to Evans the following year, Ng regained the title in 2017, defeating Evans 5–4 in the semi-final and overcoming Vidya Pillai 6–5 in the protracted final. In 2018, Ng won the title for a third time and in 2019 she collected her third IBSF World Title.

Ng took up snooker at the age of 13 after being impressed by her father's skill at the game. She has been supported by the Hong Kong Sports Institute since 2010. Her highest in competition is 139, which she achieved at the 2018 Australian Women's Open.

## Early life

Ng was born on 17 November 1990. She grew up in Hong Kong, within the working-class district of Sham Shui Po. She began learning to play snooker at the age of 13 in the snooker hall in which her father worked. He encouraged her to take up the game because she was lacking direction, performing poorly at school, and spending a lot of time playing online games. Ng was impressed by her father's playing ability and attire; she took up the sport and was coached by her father. She started entering tournaments in 2006.

She would practise the sport for between five and six hours daily; in one of her practice routines, Ng would cue through a small ring placed on the table to help assess her accuracy. Her first international tournament was the 2006 IBSF Women's Championship in Amman. In 2007 and 2008, she won the Hong Kong Under-21 Snooker Open Championships, in which she competed against male players.

Ng left school at 17 to concentrate on her snooker skills but later returned to studying, and in 2016 gained a Higher Diploma in accounting from the School of Professional and Continuing Education of the University of Hong Kong.

## Career

Since 2010, Ng has been supported by the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI), where she is an elite sports scholarship athlete. In 2015, she was receiving HKD25,000 a month from the HKSI.

### 2007–2009: IBSF tournament success

Ng's first experience of an international snooker competition was at the 2006 IBSF Women's Championship in Amman, Jordan, where she won three of her eight matches in the qualifying group, winning 13 and losing 16.

In the group stage of the 2007 IBSF World Under-21 Snooker Championship, she recorded a 3–0 win over Hasani Armaghan of Iran and a 3–1 win over Arantxa Sanchis but lost 0–3 to Bi Zhu Qing. She also achieved 3–0 wins over Ramona Belmont of New Zealand, and Aakanksha Singh and Keerath Bhandaal from India, the latter of whom was aged 11. In the semi-final, Ng won the first frame against her opponent Belmont, who took the next one. Ng won the following two frames to face Bi Zhu Qing in the final, in whish Ng lost the first two frames then equalised the score to 2–2 before losing the last two frames. Bi won the match 4–2.

Ng lost her quarter-final match 2–3 to Bi Zhu Qing at the 2007 Asian Indoor Games in Macau in November 2008.

In the qualifying group for the 2009 IBSF World Snooker Championship, Ng lost 2–3 to Ramona Belmont, whom she had defeated twice in the 2007 under-21 championship, and then bested Anuja Chandra 3–1 and Yu Ching Ching 4–2. In the last-16 round, Ng was trailing 0–2 to Yu Ching Ching but won four frames in a row to win the match 4–2. In the semi-finals, Ng faced Belmont and prevailed 4–3, having led 2–0 before falling behind 2–3. In the final, Ng produced some impressive and defeated Kathy Parashis, a 10-time winner of the Australian Open, 5–1. When Ng was leading 3–1, the players were summoned to drug tests and returned to take the remaining frame she required to win the match, becoming the youngest-ever IBSF women's champion at the age of 19.

Ng was omitted from the Hong Kong squad for the 2009 East Asian Games , which were held in Hong Kong soon after her victory in the IBSF World Championship, because she was unable to attend the team training camp.

### 2010–2011: Second IBSF world title

At the 2010 Asian Games, Ng won the gold medal as a member of the women's six-red snooker team, along with So Man Yan and Jaique Ip. She also won a bronze medal for reaching the semi-finals in the six-red singles competition. She lost 3–4 to Chen Siming in the semi-finals of the individual competition.

On 15 December 2010, Ng successfully defended her IBSF World Snooker Championship title in Syria, defeating compatriot Jaique Ip 5–0 in the final. Having won the first three frames comfortably, Ng won the last two frames on the . On her way to the final, Ng won all six of her matches in the qualifying group without losing a frame. She then defeated Eslami Taherh 4–0 in the last 16, Anuja Chandra 4–3 in the quarter-finals—the only match in which Ng lost any frames—and Vidya Pillai 4–0 in the semi-finals. Ng reached the quarter-final of the 2011 WLBSA World Championship, losing 1–4 to eventual winner Reanne Evans.

### 2012: First ranking event win

Ng won her first women's ranking event, the 2012 Northern Championship, without losing a frame during the tournament. She bested Maria Catalano 3–0 in the final.

Having won the previous two IBSF world championships, in 2009 and 2010, Ng topped her qualifying group in 2012 by winning all four matches. She then progressed by defeating Arantxa Sanchis 4–1 in the last 16, Nicha Pathomekmongkhon 4–2 in the quarter-finals, and Siraphat Chitchomnart 4–2 in the semi-finals. In the final, Ng won only the third frame, losing 1–5 to Wendy Jans. In the WLBSA World Championship, Ng won all of her five qualifying group matches but lost in the last 16 to Yu Ching Ching.

### 2013: Six-reds success

Ng won a silver medal at the 2013 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Six-red snooker in July, losing 3–4 to Amornrat Uamduang in the final. At the WLBSA World Championship, she lost 0–4 to Maria Catalano in the semi-finals.

In October 2013, Ng won the inaugural IBSF World Six-red snooker Championship in Carlow, Ireland. In the final, her opponent Daria Sirotina failed to score in three of the four frames Ng won to take the title 4–0, the frame scores being 34–0, 43–0, 45–37 and 42–0. Ng was also, with So Man Yee, runner-up in the Six-red team event. In November of the same year, Ng won the World Ladies Billiards and Snooker Association (WLBSA) UK Ladies' Championship, defeating Maria Catalano 4–2 in the final.

### 2014: World Championship runner-up

Ng won the WLBSA Southern Classic in February with a victory over Maria Catalano in the final. She was the losing finalist in the WLBSA World Championship, losing 0–6 to Reanne Evans after winning 3–0 against Laura Evans, 4–2 against Tatjana Vasiljeva and 4–3 against Emma Bonney to reach the final. Ng also reached the semi-finals of the IBSF World Championship, losing 1–4 to Wendy Jans.

### 2015: Ladies' World Champion

In February 2015, Ng lost 1–5 to Reanne Evans in the final of the Eden Resources Masters tournament.

At the 2015 World Ladies Snooker Championship held in Leeds, England, Ng topped her qualifying group. Three frames were played in each match; Ng won 3–0 wins over Annette Newman, Gaye Jones and Michelle Brown, and had a 2–1 win over Yana Shut. In the last 16, she defeated Anastasia Tumilovich 3–0, and in the quarter-finals bested Emma Cunningham 4–0. In the semi-finals, she faced Reanne Evans, winner of the title in each of the previous ten years. Ng took the first frame 63–51, scoring a break of 44, but then lost the next two frames. A of 33 saw Ng take the fourth frame 53–43 to equalize at 2–2. She then took the lead by winning the fifth frame 84–0 with breaks of 25 and 55. In a close sixth frame, Ng cleared the last four colours to win the frame 51–47 and the match 4–2, ending Evans' decade-long reign as champion. Emma Bonney won the first two frames of the final, winning them 59–22 and 68–38. Ng won the scrappy, 47-minute third frame 45–11. The highest break in the fifth frame, which took 46 minutes and 58 seconds, was eight (red, pink, red from Bonney), with Ng taking it 72–20. Ng then made five breaks in the twenties and won the next three frames to become the first new world ladies' champion since Reanne Evans won the first of her ten consecutive titles.

On 11 August 2015, Ng defeated India's Vidya Pillai 5–2 in the World Ladies Championship final in Karachi, Pakistan, to claim her second IBSF World Six-red women's title. Ng emerged from the qualifying groups in fourth place overall and defeated Arantxa Sanchis 4–0 and Amee Kamani 4–1 to reach the final.

### 2016: World Championship runner-up

Ng reached the final of the 2016 Eden Classic, defeating fellow Hong Kong players Katrina Wan 3–2 and Jaique Ip 4–1 after qualifying for the knockout stages but Ng lost 1–4 to Reanne Evans in the final. Ng and her playing partner Katrina Wan Ka Kai won the 2016 World Women's Snooker pairs title by defeating Maria Catalano and Tatjana Vasiljeva 4–1 in the final.

At the 2016 World Ladies Snooker Championship, the top-eight seeds, including defending champion Ng, were placed in the knockout and each faced a qualifier. Ng progressed to the final without losing a frame, besting Laura Evans 3–0, Katrina Wan 4–0, and Rebecca Kenna 4–0. In the final, Reanne Evans took the first frame but Ng won three in a row to go two frames ahead. Evans won the next two frames to equalize at 3–3. Ng then took the seventh frame to lead 4–3. Evans then won three consecutive frames to take the match 6–4 and win the title.

Ng was granted a wild card for the 2016 World Snooker Championship as the Women's World Champion, and became the first Asian woman to play in the World Snooker Championship, losing 1–10 to Peter Lines in her first match. With Katrina Wan, Ng won the IBSF World Six-reds snooker team tournament in Sharm-El-Sheikh, Egypt, with a 4–3 victory over Vidya Pillai and Amee Kamani of India in the final. Fifteen minutes after the conclusion of the team final, Ng played Pillai in a quarter-final match of the singles and lost 2–4.

Ng won the inaugural Paul Hunter Classic, which was held in Fürth, Germany. After winning all three matches in her qualifying group 3–0, Ng won the deciding frame 4–3 against Irina Gorbataya in the last 16, having trailed 1–3. She progressed through the quarter-finals and semi-finals without losing a frame in either round. Ng won 4–0 over Wendy Jans, during the third frame of which she made the tournament's highest break, a 104. She then defeated Maria Catalano, also 4–0. In the final, Ng took a 2–0 lead against Reanne Evans, who won the third frame. Ng won the next two frames, both of which were closely contested, to win the final 4–1.

At the first Asian Billiard Sports Championships, which was held in 2016 in the United Arab Emirates, Ng defeated Arantxa Sanchis 5–1 in the semi-finals and Vidya Pillai 5–1 in the final to gain the title. Ng lost 3–4 to Reanne Evans in the semi-finals of the UK Championship in November, and 1–4 to Wendy Jans in the quarter-final of the IBSF World Snooker Championship later the same month.

### 2017: Regains World Championship

In 2017, Ng supported the Hong Kong Women's Foundation campaign \#MyRealCareerLine, which was set up to tackle sexism and gender inequality at work. She appeared in a YouTube video for the campaign in March 2017.

The 2017 World Women's Snooker Championship was held in Singapore, marking the first time in over 20 years the tournament had taken place outside the United Kingdom. The group stage matches were contested as best-of five , with all dead frames being played. Ng topped her qualifying group by winning all three of her matches: 4–1 against both Charlene Chai and Chitra Magimairaj, and a 5–0 win against Ronda Sheldreck. In the knockout stage, Ng defeated Pui Ying Mini Chu 4–0 in the last 16 and Waratthanun Sukritthanes 4–3 in the quarter-finals. She then faced defending champion Reanne Evans in the semi-finals, where she won 5–4 after recovering from a 60-points deficit in the deciding frame.

Ng's opponent in the final was Vidya Pillai, the first Indian player to reach the final of the Women's World Championship, and it was the first women's world championship final with two Asian players. Ng won the first two frames of the match before losing the next four. At 2–4 down, she won three consecutive frames for a 5–4 lead before Pillai took the tenth to force a deciding frame that lasted for over an hour. With only the pink and black balls remaining on the table, and the pink lying close to the black which was itself adjacent to one of the corner , Ng fouled and left a free ball. Pillai, who was four points behind, the black but and hit the pink instead, also the black. Ng then potted the pink ball to take the frame 66–50, gaining her second world title.

With a playing time of eight hours and four minutes, the final was the longest 11-frame competitive match in snooker history, significantly exceeding the previous record of 7 hours and 14 minutes that was set at the 1992 UK Snooker Championship. Finishing at 1:30 am local time, it was the first time since 1989 the final of the Women's World Championship had ended in a deciding frame. Because the final took place on the same day as the semi-finals, Ng played for more than 12 hours across the two matches in a single day. Her prize money was £5,000, more than four times the amount awarded to the previous year's winner.

Ng was one of only two women competitors in the mixed singles snooker at the 2017 World Games, held in Wrocław, Poland. Ng lost in the deciding frame of her first match 2–3 against Michael Judge. Ng was seeded into the last 16 at the 2017 Paul Hunter Women's Classic in Fürth, Germany; she reached the semi-finals without losing a frame, defeating both Inese Lukashevska and Diana Stateczny 4–0. She then narrowly defeated So Man Yan 4–3 to reach the final, where she lost 1–4 to Reanne Evans, having won only the third frame.

### 2018: Earns top ranking and retains World Championship

On reaching the quarter-finals of the WLBSA British Open in Stourbridge, England, in February 2018, Ng became the first Asian player to top the women's rankings. She progressed to the semi-finals, where she lost 2–4 to Nutcharut Wongharuthai.

Ng successfully defended her world championship title, without conceding a frame, at the 2018 tournament held at St. Paul's Bay, Malta. She had started with low expectations for her performance at the event because she felt unwell and under pressure, and was suffering from loss of form. Ng emerged from the qualifying stage with 3–0 wins over Judy Dangerfield, Katarzyna Bialik, and Ronda Sheldreck, and was seeded into the quarter-finals, where she defeated Wendy Jans 4–0. She then defeated Rebecca Kenna 4–0 in her semi-final, winning a place in the final with Maria Catalano, who had defeated Reanne Evans 4–3 in the other semi-final. Ng won 5–0 to gain her third world title.

Ng was runner-up in the World Women's 10-Red Championship and the World Women's Six-red Championship, which were both held in Leeds, England, in April 2018. Ng lost in the final of both tournaments to Reanne Evans. She then entered Q School in May 2018 in an attempt to win a place on the professional snooker tour. Ng took the 2018 LITEtask UK Women's Championship title in September, defeating Suzie Opacic 3–2, Ploychompoo Laokiatphong 3–0, and Jaique Ip 4–0. In the final, she defeated Rebecca Kenna 4–1 after losing the first frame.

At the Australian Open, Ng scored a 139 break in the third frame of her semi-final against Nutcharut Wongharuthai; her then-highest break in competition. Having won all of her five qualifying matches 4–0 against Australian opponents, Ng defeated another Australian, Judy Dangerfield, 3–0 in the last 16, Pui Ying Mini Chu 4–0 in the quarter-finals, and Wongharuthai 4–2 in the semi-finals. Ng won the final, defeating Katrina Wan 4–2.

At the IBSF Six-red Women's Snooker Championship in Marsa Alam, Ng was the only player in the women's qualifying groups who did not lose a frame. In the knockout phase, she defeated Thai players Siripaporn Nuanthakhamjan 4–2 and Nutcharat Wongharuthai 4–1, before losing the final to another Thai player, Waratthanun Sukritthanes, 2–4.

### 2019: Third IBSF world title

Ng reached the final of the 2019 Belgian Women's Open with wins of 3–0 over Jane O'Neill and Emma Parker, and of 4–3 over Nutcharut Wongharuthai in the semi-finals. She won the first frame of the final against Reanne Evans, but lost the next four to finish as runner-up. She also lost to Evans in the final of the World Women's 10-Red Championship in Leeds, this time 3–4.

Ng lost in the quarter-finals of the Six-red Championship to Wongharuthai, 2–3. She was also defeated by Wongharuthai 4–1 at the quarter-finals stage of the 2019 World Women's Snooker Championship, making 2019 the first year since 2012 that Ng had not reached at least the semi-finals of the tournament. Consequently, she lost the number one position that she had held for 14 months, as Reanne Evans regained the top ranking.

In April 2019, Ng played Alan McManus in the first round of qualifying at the World Snooker Championship – after winning the first two frames, she eventually lost the match 6–10. She was runner-up in the 2019 Women's Tour Championship, held at the Crucible Theatre, defeating Rebecca Kenna 2–0 in the semi-finals before losing the one-frame final to Reanne Evans.

At the Australian Women's Open in 2019, Ng and Nutcharut Wongharuthai were the only two players to complete their qualifying groups without losing a frame. Ng then registered wins over Tani Mina 3–0, Jessica Woods 3–1, and So Man Yan 4–1, to reach the final against Wongharuthai, who won the match 4–2 to gain her first ranking tournament win.

Ng won her third IBSF world snooker title in Antalya in November 2019. She dedicated her victory to Poon Ching-chiu, a fellow snooker player who had died at the age of 18 during the fortnight before the final. Ng finished top of the qualifying round, winning all four of her matches 2–0, before defeating Joy Lyn Willenberg 3–0 in the last 16, and Amee Kamani 4–1 in the quarter-finals. Her semi-final against Waratthanun Sukritthanes was taken to a deciding frame, but with breaks of 34 and 40, Ng won the last frame 85–0 and the match 4–3. She then played Wongharuthai in the final where, after trailing 0–2, she took five consecutive frames to win the match 5–2.

### 2020: Belgian Open Champion

Ng won the 2020 Belgian Women's Open, which was her first ranking tournament victory since the 2018 Australian Open. She was seeded directly into the last-16 round, where she defeated both Albina Liashcuk and Steph Daughtery 3–0. She then bested Wongharuthai 4–2 in the semi-finals. In the final she was 2–1 ahead of Reanne Evans after losing the first frame. From 2–2, Ng won the next two frames to take the title with a 4–2 win.

Ng was given a wildcard place for the qualifying rounds of the 2020 World Snooker Championship. The final stages of the tournament were due to take place in April and May 2020 but were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. She declined to participate in the tournament due to COVID-19 safety concerns. With World Women's Snooker events cancelled or postponed during the coronavirus pandemic, Ng's next competitive appearance was at the 2020 Hong Kong Women's Snooker Open Championship, nine months after the Belgian Open. She won the title with a 4–0 defeat of Cheung Yee Ting in the final.

In March 2021, it was announced that Ng would be offered a two-year World Snooker tour-card, to commence in the 2021–22 snooker season.

### 2021–2022

On the World Women's Snooker circuit for 2021–2022, there were five ranking events. Ng won the Eden Women's Masters, winning the deciding frame of her semi-final against Kenna after needing three snookers, and recovering from 1-3 against Evans in the final to win 4-3. She took the season's last ranking title, the Winchester Open, by defeating Wongharuthai 4–0 in the final.

Ng achieved her first win on the World Snooker tour by eliminating Wu Yize 4–2 at the 2022 Welsh Open. She lost 1-4 to Ali Carter in the next round.

## Honours and awards

The Hong Kong government awarded Ng the Medal of Honour in 2011 for "outstanding achievements in international snooker competitions." She received a Bronze Bauhinia Star in 2017, this being the lowest of the three ranks of The Order of the Bauhinia Star, a set of awards made by the government of Hong Kong to "persons who have rendered distinguished service to the community or to their respective fields of business for a long period of time".

In March 2016, Ng was named "Best of the Best" at the Hong Kong Sports Stars Awards. She won the award again in 2018, in recognition of her achievements in 2017. Ng was named the International World Games Association Athlete of the Month in March 2017, following her victory in the 2017 World Women's Snooker Championship.

## Performance and rankings timeline

### World Snooker Tour

### World Women's Snooker

## Tournament finals

### Individual

### Team

### Hong Kong Championships

Snooker

Pocket Billiards (pool)

World champion snooker player from Hong Kong

Asian Games bronze medalists for Hong Kong

Asian Games gold medalists for Hong Kong

Cue sports players at the 2010 Asian Games