Overview

NASA’s Juno spacecraft entered Jupiter’s orbit on July 4, 2016, after a five-year journey. #JunoJupiter trended as the probe began its mission to study the gas giant’s composition, gravity field, magnetic field, and polar magnetosphere — seeking to understand Jupiter’s formation and evolution.

Significance

Juno flies closer to Jupiter than any previous spacecraft, skimming just 3,100 miles above the cloud tops during each orbit. The mission revealed stunning details: Jupiter’s poles are covered with cyclones clustered in geometric patterns, the Great Red Spot extends 200+ miles deep, and the planet’s magnetic field is 10x stronger than expected.

Stunning Imagery

Juno’s JunoCam captured breathtaking images of Jupiter’s swirling clouds, storms, and auroras. NASA released raw images to the public, inviting citizen scientists to process them. Amateur image processors created viral artwork from Juno’s data, making the mission one of the most visually celebrated in space exploration history.

Extended Mission

Originally planned to end in 2018, Juno’s mission has been extended multiple times due to its success. The spacecraft has completed 50+ orbits, studying Jupiter’s moons including flybys of Ganymede, Europa, and Io. The mission continues collecting data critical for understanding not just Jupiter, but planetary formation across the universe.

Sources:

• https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/juno/main/index.html
• https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu/
• https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/juno