Gregory Benford 
Jupiter Project 
Jupiter Project Book 1

Matt Bohles was content with the pleasures of low-g life in the Jovian Orbital Lab. Even if a young man did get to feel a bit squeezed, growing up in a tin can 600 million klicks from Mother Earth…But the International Space Administration was losing its patience with the slow advance of science. There was talk of closing down the lab. The Earthside pols wanted publicity, adventure and profits – and not necessarily in that order.So Matt had a bright idea. He figured he’d steal a spacesuit. Grab a spare shuttlecraft. And discover life on Jupiter…