Natural logic would assume that a planet much larger than the Moon; for example Jupiter; would have garnered much more attention by terrestrially based astronomers and orbital telescopes that the state of our knowledge on it should be far greater than that of the Moon. Unfortunately natural logic doesn't work in this case as any student of space will tell you size isn't everything when it comes to space.
As a matter of fact the key element in space is actually distance and because of its far-flung location in the solar system, Jupiter has been a hard place to reach and therefore a hard object to study and explore. Before jumping to the conclusion that the state of our knowledge of Jupiter is bad, you need to sit back and see what we do know.
For starters we know that Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and the fifth planet from the Sun. We also know that it possesses sixty three known moons and three rings that are not visible to most people on Earth. Exploratory spacecraft have proven that Jupiter has almost exactly the same amount of helium as the Sun and the magnetosphere and radiation fields around it are far greater than could have ever been measured from Earth-based observations. Within the Jovian system itself there is a possibility that life exists within deep saltwater oceans that are warmed not by the Sun but actually by the heat emitted from the planet itself.
When peering down at the planet multiple spacecraft have proven that Jupiter doesn't possess a surface as we know one and winds exceed 500 kilometers per hour; something never experienced on Earth. To say the least we know that Jupiter is a giant gas ball that possesses a virtual solar system of its own and requires further investigation to truly unlock hidden secrets buried deep within its atmosphere.
Taking all these facts into consideration and for the simple fact that Jupiter is at the top of every space agencies list of destinations for robotic explorers, the state of our knowledge on the massive planet should be considered good. It obviously isn't even on the same playing field as how much we know about Earth or the Moon but it is safe to say that we know more about Jupiter than we do about Mercury, Mars, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and even perhaps Venus and Saturn; depending on how you determine what is noteworthy or not. The sheer size of Jupiter and the fact that it is the brightest star in the sky minus the Sun and the famous North Star; makes it a very attractive target to space agencies across the globe.
This goes to show that we are hungry for knowledge on the planet because we know enough that it warrants further investigation above and beyond what the other planets in the solar system will be getting in the near future. In the long run it can be argued that by the time 2020 comes around humans will be most knowledgeable about the Earth, then the Moon, and even before Mars there would come Jupiter. The king of the Roman gods has not gone away; he has just changed forms into a planet worth study.
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