Happy Birthday Juno! NASA's Jupiter spacecraft was launched 10 years ago

NASA’s Jupiter spacecraft Juno Today marks 10 years in space (August 5).

Juno was launched into space on August 5, 2011 at the Cape Canaveral Space Station in Florida (formerly known as the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station). Arrived Thursday Five years later, he studied the gas giant and its moons in orbit.

NASA selected the mission in 2005 and originally planned to launch it in 2009, but it was delayed due to budget constraints. Six years after being selected, Juno finally left and finally reached Jupiter’s orbit on July 4, 2016.

The spacecraft is one of NASA’s three New Frontiers missions (including) New horizons And OSIRIS-REx) And was one of eight other spacecraft to visit the Jovian district. Today, ten years after launch and five years after reaching Jupiter, look at what Juno has achieved and discovered throughout its mission.

Photos: NASA’s Juno mission to Jupiter

Appearance of a Juno spacecraft artist observing Ganymede on June 7, 2021. Ten years ago, on August 5, 2011, Juno was launched into space. (Imagine: NASA / JPL-Caltech)

Ten years after the launch and five years after landing on Jupiter, Juno worked hard to collect data and observe the planet. NASA has sent Jupiter to answer questions about the planet’s water, atmosphere, magnetic and gravitational fields, and more.

In August 2016, a month after arriving on Thursday, Juno was the first to discover The known lines of the planet, the lines on which it can be quickly identified, are in fact spreading Atmosphere of Jupiter.

The inquiry gave us one The first internal view of Jupiter’s rings Revealed how the auroras on Jupiter are different from those on Earth.

Juno also directly detected Jupiter’s internal magnetic field. This was a historic discovery because it was the first time an inner magnetic field had been found on an extraterrestrial planet. Juno helped scientists discover and study “shallow lightning”Mushroom ballsOr (or hail made with molten ammonia).

In addition to the boat’s continuous discoveries and explorations, he also collected numerous incredible images of the Jovian system. In 2017, the investigation took a number of steps Images of symbolic red spots on the planet, Who showed up here on an incredible close-up earth we have seen from afar for so long.

In 2021, NASA has expanded Juno’s mission to continue exploration until September 2025, if the spacecraft does not stop running fast. This extension allows us to continue exploring not only Jupiter, but the entire Joan system, including the planet and its numerous moons (eventually, Jupiter has 79 known moons, 53 of which have been named, four of which are the largest and best known).Galilean Monday. “)

For those who want to celebrate the Juno Decade of Space Exploration, check out some of them Pictures For years, or with the advice of NASA, you can build your own Juno spacecraft Here.

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