Juno - spacecraft probe sent to Jupiter

Juno is a spacecraft probe that was launched on August 5, 2011 and is supposed to arrive in the orbit of Jupiter on July 4, 2016. Juno’s mission is to gather information on the gravitational and magnetic fields of Jupiter. It will also study the “swirling clouds that cover Jupiter’s colorful trademark atmosphere”. Juno is expected to endeavor a five-year journey to Jupiter in which it will attempt to bring to light what the planet is made of and how much water it contains. The spacecraft will use solar panels instead of radioisotope thermoelectric generators to power itself. It is expected to arrive to Jupiter in 2016 and then it “will enter into a low elliptical orbit circling the planet from pole to pole”. The orbit has been strategically planned so that it avoid harmful and deadly belts of charged particles that surround the Jovian planet. Once inside the atmosphere, it will use infrared and microwave instruments to measure the thermal radiation coming from deep within the dense atmosphere. It will also gather data on the gravitational field it has and its polar magnetosphere.

References:

http://missionjuno.swri.edu/mission

http://www.aerospaceguide.net/planet/juno.html

For Astronomy II class.