We were reminded today, in dramatic fashion, that NASA is still open for business and leading the world in space exploration. At 12:25 p.m. EDT, we launched the Juno spacecraft from the Space Coast of Florida on its five-year journey to Jupiter, putting NASA on a mission to yet another new frontier. Our future in space exploration is bright and holds many such cutting-edge science missions that will help us better understand our solar system and an ever-increasing array of challenging destinations where humans might travel.
Juno will speed past our moon in less than a single day before it begins its trek of 1,740 million miles to reach the largest planet in our solar system. Those astounding distances and speeds are hard for us to fathom, but they are the kind of numbers our dedicated scientists and navigators work with every day to get the job done.
Juno will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times. Its color camera will provide unprecedented close-up images of the planet, including the first detailed glimpse of the planet's poles. Juno's eight science instruments will peer through our mysterious neighbor's atmosphere and tell us more about what goes on in its atmosphere and magnetosphere. They'll also help us determine if there is a solid core to this gas giant.
Juno will power its systems using solar energy. This is the farthest out we've yet sent a spacecraft using this type of energy source. It's just one of many things we'll be looking at as we make the most of the spacecraft's journey to help refine technology for future exploration missions.
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Juno will speed past our moon in less than a single day before it begins its trek of 1,740 million miles to reach the largest planet in our solar system. Those astounding distances and speeds are hard for us to fathom, but they are the kind of numbers our dedicated scientists and navigators work with every day to get the job done.
Juno will orbit Jupiter's poles 33 times. Its color camera will provide unprecedented close-up images of the planet, including the first detailed glimpse of the planet's poles. Juno's eight science instruments will peer through our mysterious neighbor's atmosphere and tell us more about what goes on in its atmosphere and magnetosphere. They'll also help us determine if there is a solid core to this gas giant.
Juno will power its systems using solar energy. This is the farthest out we've yet sent a spacecraft using this type of energy source. It's just one of many things we'll be looking at as we make the most of the spacecraft's journey to help refine technology for future exploration missions.
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