NASA launched Juno satellite in August 2011. Now its ready to answer fundamental questions like what is under Jupiters clouds and what is its core made of. Well also get more information about Jupiter`s composition, magnetic field, gravity and polar magnetosphere.
What "Juno" means
The spacecraft's name comes from Greek mythology. The god Jupiter drew a veil of clouds around himself to hide his mischief, but his wife, the goddess Juno, was able to peer through the clouds and see Jupiter's true nature.
What is special about Juno?
Its second spacecraft send to Jupiters orbit and first solar powered craft to do so. Travelled 2.8 billion kilometers and will orbit Jupiter 37 times while collecting and sending data. Mission will be ended in 2018 and Juno will be deorbited to burn up in Jupiter's outer atmosphere to avoid any possibility of impact and biological contamination of one of its moons.
The fastest
Juno is the fastest thing ever created by human.
Mission objectives
Juno's principal goal is to understand the origin and evolution of Jupiter. With its suite of science instruments, Juno will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras.
Juno will also measure temperature, determine how much water is in Jupiter`s atmosphere and explain how planet's enormous magnetic force field affects its atmosphere.
Why it is so hard to explore the Jupiter?
