In a matter of days, we will see what spring is like in Jupiter as spacecraft Juno enters within the polar orbit range of the giant gassy planet.
Launched in August 5, 2011 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, the solar-powered, encased in vault spacecraft rode on the most powerful rocket then to lead NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory's mission in search of clues pointing towards Jupiter's origin.
Juno is scheduled to reach its destination, Jupiter, on July 4, 2016. According to a NASA mission statement, Juno will not land but will be within close range of the planet to uncover if Jupiter actually has a core, the amount of water present on the planet and how its mass is distributed, among others.
Too much information? Not enough to get you geeking over space, our final frontier? These five facts might:
1. Juno is not the first spacecraft to encroach into Jupiter's airspace but this time, we mean business
Since mission Pioneer 10 in 1973, spacecrafts including Pioneer 11, Voyager 1, Voyager 2, Ulysses, Cassini and New Horizons has gotten close enough to capture information about the planet. From the Galileo probe which orbited Jupiter from 1995 to 2003, we know today that the bulk of the planet is made out of gases while its surface is layered with clouds.
While Galileo orbited at the planet’s equator where it could also view the Jovian moons, Juno will take up an orbit over Jupiter’s poles while avoiding the worst of the radiation belts.
Interestingly Juno will be able to ‘peek’ beyond those ammonia-laden clouds, and it is tempting to bring Roman mythology reference here: Juno the spacecraft was named after the wife of the god Jupiter. In Roman mythology, when the mischievous Jupiter summons up thick clouds to hide his activities from her, Juno is able to see through the clouds and figured out what he was up to. Similarly, Juno the spacecraft is set to find out Jupiter’s secrets.
2. Juno is stronger than your regular armoured tank
Previous missions had revealed that Jupiter is one mega ball of a radiation-party and its environment is highly volatile. Add in a magnetic field that is 11 times stronger than Earth's, any spacecraft approaching its mass is bound to get into trouble.
Thus Juno's body, electronics and instruments are built and tested to withstand high radiation, protected with materials such as titanium as well as insulated with metal layers.
3. Juno is one pimped ride
Yes, Juno is buffed like a jock but its insides will make all nerds go gaga. The list of scientific instruments bound onto its deck include a JunoCam, magnetometer, microwave radiometer, ultraviolet imaging spectograph and there's even a JEDI! (Or you can call it Jupiter Energetic Particle Detector Instrument - whichever makes your brows hit the ceiling.)
With these machines, Juno will study Jupiter's gravity and magnetic fields, take photos, see beyond the cloud tops and observe the planet's auroras as well as its raging storm called the Great Red Spot.
And let's not forget the three 256-sq ft solar arrays that enable Juno to power itself. Solar energy is a greener alternative to radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTG), which was used by previous spacecrafts. RTG brings risks of accidental contamination into the atmosphere it dwells in.
4. The most daunting task for Juno is called Jupiter Orbit Insertion
The spacecraft's entry into Jupiter's will make or break the mission. Though already successful for travelling beyond the 792-million-kilometre mark recorded by European Space Agency's Rosetta en route to a comet, Juno needs to handle its speed and direction of its flight in order to safely enter Jupiter's orbit.
According to the Missionjuno.swri.edu website, Jupiter’s orbit insertion refers to the period of time during which Juno will arrive at Jupiter and be captured by its gravity. The maneuver is accomplished by approaching Jupiter over the planet's north pole and then firing the spacecraft’s main engine for about 30 minutes. This slows Juno enough to become bound to Jupiter, like an artificial satellite.
Once pulled by the planet's gravity, Juno will map and monitor the planet from a distance of 5,000 kilometers from the planet's cloud tops. Juno will orbit at least 33 times over 20 months to collect as much data as it could on the planet.
5. Juno might send home the answer to Earth's origin
While Mars is more popular in Tinseltown, Jupiter is believed to be the first planet to form within the solar system. Thus scientists look at Jupiter as a time capsule that might hold clues of not only itself, but Earth's origin as well.
At the end of its scientific phase, Juno will deorbit to reach an altitude that is below the planet’s cloud tops and burn as it impacts into Jupiter. After all, Juno belongs to Jupiter, so that is where the spacecraft will rest.
For a planet that has helped ward away comets from hurling itself into the solar system and destroying its smaller planets, there's a lot about Jupiter that can be learnt and appreciated.
If this article managed to perk your interest, catch up on the details at www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/juno/main/index.html or https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu/.
If you want to 'ride' aboard Juno, before it deorbits itself on October 16, 2017 go tohttp://eyes.jpl.nasa.gov/juno.