Juno (spacecraft)

Infobox Spacecraft
Name = Juno


Caption = An artist's concept of "Juno" at Jupiter
Organization = NASA
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Mission_Type = Orbiter
Flyby_Of = Earth
Satellite_Of = Jupiter
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Launch = August 2011
Launch_Vehicle = Atlas V 551
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Webpage = http://juno.wisc.edu/
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"Juno" is a NASA mission to Jupiter, slated to cost about USD $700 million (FY03) and scheduled to launch in August 2011. [cite web|url=http://juno.wisc.edu/ | title=Juno - NASA's Second New Frontiers Mission to Jupiter | accessdate=2007-10-24] As of September 2008, the mission is in the early planning stages. The Atlas V rocket has been chosen to launch Juno in the Atlas V-551 configuration.

The spacecraft will be placed in a polar orbit to study the planet's composition, gravity field, magnetic field, and polar magnetosphere. Juno will also search for clues about how Jupiter formed, including whether the planet has a rocky core, the amount of water present within the deep atmosphere, and how the mass is distributed within the planet. Juno will also study Jupiter's deep winds, which can reach speeds of 600 km/h.

Mission summary

Juno is a New Frontiers mission. Its trajectory will use a gravity assist from Earth, accomplished through an Earth flyby two years after its 2011 launch. In 2016, the spacecraft will perform an orbit insertion burn to slow the spacecraft enough to allow capture into an 11-day polar orbit. Its mission will conclude in 2017, after 32 orbits around Jupiter. Data analysis may occur during 2018.

olar panels

It will be the first mission to Jupiter using solar panels instead of the radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) used by Pioneer 10, Pioneer 11, the Voyager program, and the Galileo orbiter. Advancement in solar cell technology and efficiency over the past several decades now makes it economically feasible to use solar panels of practical size to provide power so far from the sun. In addition, RTGs are in short supply, limiting their availability for space missions. Also, by using solar energy, NASA avoids the protests associated with launching RTGs into space (due to accusations of public safety risks, which NASA refutes in detailed scientific reports); however, it should be noted that NASA plans several more projects involving RTGs, [cite web | url=http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/scitech/display.cfm?ST_ID=665 | title=Enabling Exploration: Small Radioisotope Power Systems | publisher=NASA | accessdate=2007-10-24] and the decision to use alternate technology on this mission is more practical and economical than political.

References

External links

* [http://juno.wisc.edu/ Official web site]
* [http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/profile.cfm?MCode=Juno Juno Mission Profile] by [http://solarsystem.nasa.gov NASA's Solar System Exploration]
* [http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2005-090 NASA Selects New Frontiers Concept Study: Juno Mission to Jupiter] at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
* [http://space.com/searchforlife/seti_juno_050609.html The Juno Mission to Jupiter] at Space.com