(missions by order of date of arrival)
- Launched on: Aug. 5, 2011, aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V-551, from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
- Agency, Country: NASA (USA)
- Scheduled Arrival Date: 2016
- Mission, Features: Juno is a in-depth study of Jupiter from a polar orbit (search for an ice-rock core; determine the amount of global water and ammonia present in the atmosphere; study convection and deep wind profiles in the atmosphere; investigate the origin of the jovian magnetic field; and explore the polar magnetosphere). Such an in-depth study of the giant planet will allow to more understanding of how our solar system formed. Jupiter will be scrutinized through a camera and 9 science intruments
- Route, Remarks: the spacecraft is solar-powered. It will orbit Jupiter 33 times, in a highly elliptical, polar orbit, skimming about 3,000 miles (4,800 kilometers) over the planet's cloud tops. The solar panels of Jupiter will have been improved as far as their efficiency is concerned so far away from the irradiance of the Sun. The mission is to last 1 year. JPL is managing the project as the craft is to be built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver. The name of 'Juno' was chosen in reference to Jupiter's wife, the goddess Juno, in the the Greek and Roman mythology, who was able to peer through the clouds through which Jupiter was hiding its mischief and reveal its true nature. The mission was to cover the distance from Earth to the Moon in less than one day as it will take another five years
and 1,740 million miles (2,800 million kilometers) to complete the journey to
Jupiter
- Status: en route. Juno successfully performed its first trajectory correction
maneuver early February 2012, of a dozen planned over the next five years. Juno executed two deep space maneuvers (DSM-1 and 2) on Aug. 30 and Sep. 14, setting the stage for a gravity assist from a flyby of Earth on Oct
9, 2013, when the probe, at 25 miles per second, will become
the fastest man-made object in history
- for more check at NASA site for their dedicated page to that mission, as their Mission Finder is a useful tool
Website Manager: G. Guichard, site 'Amateur Astronomy,' http://stars5.6te.net. Page Editor: G. Guichard. last edited: 12/8/2014. contact us at geguicha@outlook.com