Space in Brief:

Juno spacecraft in orbit around Jupiter

Tuesday, July 5, 2016 - 10:48 StudyHall.Rocks

This artist's concept illustrates Juno in orbit over Jupiter.

Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

From the start, NASA’s plan to put a robotic spacecraft in orbit around Jupiter was a $1.1 billion gamble.

    Juno, a spacecraft named for the Roman goddess, could become a victim of Jupiter’s intense environment. Or it could produce a gold rush of dazzling images and information that would allow researchers to develop a more profound understanding of how the solar system developed.
    For the time being, it looks as though NASA could win its bet. Just before midnight (Eastern time) on July 4, the space agency confirmed that Juno had successfully entered orbit around Jupiter.
   The spacecraft is equipped with shields for protection from radiation. During a press conference in June, scientists characterized it as an armored tank. Even so, as the mission progresses, Juno will descend into the harshest region of the planet’s radiation belts, researchers say. See an earlier story on what scientists hope to achieve during the mission.

MISSIONS EXTENDED: NASA’s New Horizons mission will head to a Kuiper Belt object known as 2014 MU69, according to NASA. The spacecraft is expected to reach its destination Jan. 1, 2019.
    New Horizons famously arrived at Pluto one year ago, offering scientists a close-up of the dwarf planet.
    Another space agency mission, the Dawn spacecraft, will remain at the dwarf planet Ceres. A scientific first, Dawn went into orbit around Ceres in March 2015. A NASA panel reviewing whether to extend the spacecraft’s mission concluded that monitoring Ceres had more potential for scientific discovery than an alternative plan to fly by the asteroid Adeona.
    The panel also agreed to continue its support of the European Space Agency’s Mars Express mission. It approved the extension of other missions if financial resources are available:

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter: This mission searches for evidence that water existed on Mars for a long period of time.
Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN): This spacecraft studies the red planet’s atmosphere.
The Opportunity and Curiosity Mars rovers: The rovers have delivered data and images that have helped researchers understand the red planet.
Mars Odyssey orbiter: This spacecraft discovered water ice just beneath the the planet's surface.
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter: This is a robotic mission to map the moon's surface.

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