In an attempt to keep an eye on Jupiter, NASA has launched a robotic explorer named Juno pm a five-year mission. The robot spacecraft is powered by the sun and will travel 1.7 billion miles to the most massive and ancient planet in the Solar System. In this article, you will learn more about the spacecraft and the intentions of NASA.
Juno will explore Jupiter , a gas planet situated two planets away from Earth, and possesses different characteristics. The spacecraft is the first of its kind developed to travel a long distance from the sun. Equipped with three large solar panels that were folded during the launch, these features will open to the same length and width of a tractor trailer.
It is the hope of scientists that Juno will shed light on some of the most basic questions regarding the solar system. They want to know how Jupiter was formed and how it evolved. They hope to find evidence that reveals the evolution of humans in relation to events that took place early on in the solar system. What makes Jupiter so special is that it received many “leftovers” that happened when the sun was created 5 billion years ago. This is why the planet is so large. The large field of gravity associated with the planet has contributed to its ability to hold onto the original space material.
The size of Jupiter is so large that it could hold everything in the solar system and still have more room left over, with the exception of the sun. Many astronomers believe that Jupiter was the first planet in the solar system to form.
As for Juno, the spacecraft will travel the closest to Jupiter than any of the previous eight spacecraft that paid a visit to Jupiter since the 1970s. Juno will become the next step to space exploration. One of the glaring features of the spacecraft is its need for solar power. Spacecraft that have come before Juno always relied on nuclear energy for their power.
This new mission will cost $1.1 billion and will end in 2017 when Juno takes a fatal plunge into Jupiter. The Juno project is not the only mission that NASA will conduct in space. With the space shuttle program ending weeks ago, the focus has now shifted to sending spacecraft on more missions like Juno’s. Hopefully, humans will once again explore outer space. NASA has a long-term goal to send astronauts to an asteroid by 2025 and to Mars during the mid-2030s.
Scientists have built Juno to withstand some of the obstacles it may encounter while exploring Jupiter. The radiation of the planet is so great that sensitive electronics were stored inside a titanium vault. Researchers hope to learn more about the invisible gravity and magnetic force fields associated with Jupiter. They also want to assess levels of oxygen and water in the planet’s atmosphere. Questions about the planet’s core (whether it is solid or gaseous) have also come up.
