On July 4, as Americans commemorated their Independence Day, the Juno space probe reached Jupiter and was in polar orbit, some 5,000 kilometers from its highest clouds. According to those responsible for the mission, which is part of NASA’s New Frontiers program, its objective is to study the origin and evolution of this giant world, which, in turn, will provide key data on the formation of our galactic neighborhood and others. solar systems .
Over the next 20 months, the spacecraft will analyze the composition and temperature of its atmosphere and will send information to Earth about the movement of its cloud masses – of its less superficial layers, not much is known yet – and its internal structure. In addition, it will make a map of the planet’s gravity and its intense magnetic fields, and investigate whether, as some astronomers suspect, it has a solid core under its gaseous cover.
To do this, Juno, named after the wife of Jupiter, queen of the gods in Roman mythology – a deity similar to the Greek Hera -, has different instruments, such as the JIRAM spectrometer, which will be used to study the layers outermost of the atmosphere, up to about 70 kilometers deep, and try to detect ammonia, methane and water vapor, among other compounds, or the JADE and JEDI detectors, which will measure the high-energy particles in the aurora of Jupiter and in its magnetosphere.
In addition to a magnetometer, ultraviolet spectrograph, microwave radiometer, radio wave sensor, and a specially designed tool for measuring gravitational variations, Juno has a camera-equipped visible light telescope that will send images of the planet to Earth. . It will be like that, at least for a while. Engineers estimate that after completing seven orbits around Jupiter, the radiation emanating from it will render this device out of service.
In fact, the mission will only last about 20 months, until February 2018 . At that moment, after having circled the planet 37 times, Juno will rush over it in a controlled manner.
Image: NASA
