The Juno mission to Jupiter has been extended to September 2025 – or how long the spacecraft can still operate around Jupiter.
While Juno has so far only focused his attention on the giant planet, the mission expansion will include observations of Jupiter’s rings and large moons, with targeted observations and close flyby of the moons Ganymede, Europa and Io planned.
This will be the first close flyby of these moons since the Galileo mission 1995-2003.
“One of the exciting things about the mission [extension]”Said Scott Bolton, Juno’s lead investigator, in September 2020 at a meeting of NASA’s Outer Planets Advisory Group.” We will visit the satellites and the rings. It really does become a full systems researcher who is not as focused as the main mission and therefore serves a potentially more diverse community as the satellite geologists and ring people get all of the data that I find very interesting and unique. “
This image from NASA’s Juno spacecraft shows a host of magnificent swirling clouds in Jupiter’s dynamic north-north temperate belt. Several bright white “pop-up” clouds appear in the scene, as well as an anti-cyclonic storm known as a white oval. Photo credit: Improved image by Gerald Eichstädt and Sean Doran (CC BY-NC-SA) / NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS
Juno has made discoveries about Jupiter’s internal structure, magnetic field, and magnetosphere and found that its atmospheric dynamics are far more complex than previously thought. The on-board camera, the JunoCam, offers a breathtaking view of the world of gas giants. Space imaging enthusiasts expect the JunoCam views of the Galilean moons should be nothing short of spectacular. Juno took remote photos of the moon Ganymede in 2020.
Juno arrived at Jupiter in July 2016 and originally the planned end of the mission was in February 2018, as the spaceship would be close to Jupiter and its radiation-laden surroundings. The harsh “working conditions” should ultimately make the spaceship inoperable.
However, the mission plan was changed when problems with the spacecraft’s main engine occurred shortly after Juno’s arrival in Jupiter. Originally, the spaceship was supposed to have a 14-day orbit around the planet. However, in late 2016, the mission managers decided not to do a final rocket combustion for this orbit because the reliability of the engine was not certain.
Artist’s impression of Juno at Jupiter. Photo credit: NASA
Instead, a revised plan put Juno into 53-day orbit. This meant that the entire mission was being scientifically pursued more slowly. However, Bolton said slowing the pace was a “salvation”. Juno was exposed to less strong radiation, so that the mission could operate longer than originally planned.
“I think the lesson is that we’ve been flexible, and that’s good for missions,” Bolton said in September. “So when you’re designing a mission, try to be flexible because you don’t know which curveball you’re going to throw.”
NASA extended the InSight mission on Mars for another two years until December 2022. The spaceship and team at InSight set and operated their highly sensitive seismometers, measured earthquakes and collected data on robust tectonic activity on the Red Planet, and expanded our knowledge of atmospheric dynamics, the magnetic field and the internal structure of the planet.
An independent review body recommended the two mission extensions to NASA.
“The senior review confirmed that these two planetary science missions are likely to continue to bring new discoveries and raise new questions about our solar system,” said Lori Glaze, director of the planetary science division at NASA’s Washington headquarters. “I thank the members of the Senior Review Panel for their extensive analysis and also the mission teams who will continue to provide exciting opportunities to refine our understanding of the dynamic science of Jupiter and Mars.”
According to NASA, expanded missions take advantage of the large investments in these missions, enabling continued scientific operations at a cost far lower than developing a new mission. “In some cases, the enhancements allow missions to continue collecting valuable long-term data sets, while in other cases missions can visit new destinations with entirely new scientific objectives,” NASA said in a press release.
Caption: Citizen scientist Kevin M. Gill created this image using data from the spacecraft’s JunoCam imager. Credits: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Kevin Gill.
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