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Nothing says “patriotism” quite like firing up the imagination as to what’s going on above and beyond the fireworks, and NASA plans to do so by sending its Juno craft to buzz Jupiter on that date.
On the evening of July 4, Juno will fire its main engine for 35 minutes, placing it into a polar orbit around the gas giant. During the flybys, Juno will probe beneath the obscuring cloud cover of Jupiter and study its auroras to learn more about the planet’s origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere.
“At this time last year our New Horizons spacecraft was closing in for humanity’s first close views of Pluto,” said Diane Brown, Juno program executive at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Now, Juno is poised to go closer to Jupiter than any spacecraft ever before to unlock the mysteries of what lies within.”
Juno will experience the highest levels of radiation in the solar system when it goes in this close. Scientists did anticipate this possibility and equipped the craft accordingly with a titanium vault protecting its vital equipment, but trouble could arise at any point under such conditions.
We can’t wait to see what they find.
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