Juno at Jupiter!

This July 4, the spacecraft Juno will enter orbit around Jupiter! It has been flying for about 5 years to get there, powered by the Sun. It has traveled farther from the Sun than any other spacecraft powered by solar panels! It just entered Jupiter's magnetosphere. Watch live coverage of the orbital insertion starting at 9:30 PM CDT on July 4th, on NASA TV.

The mission is designed to study Jupiter's interior, which we know very little about. It will also study the gas giant's magnetic and gravitational fields. Scientists will use data from Juno to try to understand how, when, and where Jupiter formed. It could have formed where it is now, but there is some evidence to suggest that it formed closer to the Sun and moved outward. If we learn more about Jupiter's formation, we will know more about the formation of the Solar System as a whole. 

The first image of Jupiter released from JunoCam, taken on June 21, 2016, at a distance of 6.8 million miles (10.9 million kilometers) from the gas giant. Image Credit

Juno's scientific goals do not require visible light images, so a nice camera like Cassini's or New Horizons' was not included in the original design. Enough people advocated for a camera that one got added later. Because Juno is a spin-stabilized spacecraft, and the camera is mounted on one side, taking images will be a challenge. The images of the Earth above were taken in long strips and then stacked together later by an image processor.  When the spacecraft flies over Jupiter's poles, Jupiter will fill the camera's field of view, so most images will be of the polar region, such as this simulated view:

Simulated view of Jupiter's pole, likely similar to what Juno will see. Image Credit

The images JunoCam takes will be immediately released to the public, and the science team will rely on amateurs for image processing. Luckily, many gorgeous space images are the result of processing by amateurs, so there should be many pretty images from this mission.You can contribute or follow along here.

The first image of Jupiter taken by JunoCam. Image Credit

Besides the pretty pictures, hopefully we will learn more about how Jupiter and the other gas giants formed, if it has a solid core, and what drives its high wind speeds. 

The spacecraft has been cruising for 5 years, but its scientific phase is only planned for 2 years. Why such a short time? Jupiter captures intense radiation from the Sun. Mission planners have designed Juno to orbit close to Jupiter, in between Jupiter's atmosphere and the worst of the radiation, but they know the scientific instruments will likely be damaged over time. Still, within two years, Juno will have studied the entire sphere of Jupiter. The camera is only designed to last for the first 8 of the 33 planned orbits. 

You can follow the mission at its website, where you can also watch a bunch of entertaining and educational videos about the mission featuring Bill Nye. Social media users can follow it on Facebook and Twitter as well. Watch live coverage of the orbital insertion starting at 9:30 PM CDT on July 4th, on NASA TV.

It's pretty exciting to have a new mission at Jupiter to follow! I'll be posting updates as new information and photos come in. You can learn more about what's happening in the Solar System, and what is happening with human exploration by visiting the Dome Planetarium at the Peoria Riverfront Museum. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for daily updates! 

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