Juno Probe finally reached Jupiter, NASA Jet Propulsion Lab at California go bang with joy. The Juno satellite that left earth’s orbit about five years ago finally reached the orbit of Jupiter in July 2016. To celebrate this achievement, Google also updated its doodle.
Teamwork??! From #Jupiter to Earth: thanks, team for guiding me into orbit. And now… SCIENCE https://t.co/4tR0S3XwyD pic.twitter.com/17Bia2UTkR
— NASA's Juno Mission (@NASAJuno) July 5, 2016
Mission Juno (Past to Present)
• Launched Date: 5th August 2011
• Reached Deep Space: 2012, September
• Earth Gravity Assist: 2013, October
• Entered Jupiter Orbit: 4th July 2016
The mission Juno is first spacecraft next to ‘New Horizon’ started since 1962. The new Horizon mission reached Pluto orbit in 14th July 2015 after 9.5 years. The mission Pluto was to confirm the survey and explore more information about the dwarf planet. The Juno is the second spaceship next to Galileo Probe to orbit the largest planet in the solar system; Jupiter.
About Juno
The Juno is the very first spacecraft built with solar arrays, for this long distance. The solar arrays are commonly used only for earth-orbiting satellites. For the spaceship to go beyond the earth’s orbit; use radioisotope thermoelectric generators. Juno is made out of three large solar panels/ wings for generating enough power.
The Juno is 66-foot long, unmanned single spacecraft made specially to launch it for mission Jupiter. Jupiter, the largest planet in Solar System is almost 484 million miles away from Earth. Jupiter is covered with Hydrogen (83%) and Helium (12%). The rest is other minerals.
Juno Worth
The mission Juno was proposed for the price of $700 million for the very first launch, which was rejected due to the budgetary restriction by NASA. In June 2011, the mission was started again at the cost of $1.1 billion.
Juno Launch
The Juno when launched from the Earth, the time it took to go beyond the earth orbit was the death-defying minutes for the team. It took nearly 35-minutes to reach earth orbit for the Juno. The Juno was programmed to start its engine when is about 2600 miles away from the Jupiter. If the engine was not triggered, the craft might pass beyond Jupiter; to the next planet maybe!
Juno Live Feed
When Juno was heading towards Jupiter’s orbit, the craft likely faced problems of radiation and the magnetic field. These radiations were robust enough to crush the spacecraft; however, the Juno is made mostly from Titanium.
The signal sent from Juno reached the earth’s meter in 49 minutes which was another hell-crossing moment. When NASA got the signal of Juno slowing down, the craft already entered the Jupiter’s orbit.
Now the June Probe is orbiting the Jupiter to gain enough information about the surface, and the existence of beings; aliens in Jupiter, probably! If something goes wrong, or the Juno to face some difficulties; there is no availability of fixing the system remotely. If that is to be, NASA would not know what is happening and what will happen next to mission.