When NASA’s Juno spacecraft is hopefully launched tomorrow on its journey to Jupiter, the spacecraft will be carrying a rather strange cargo of three 1.5 inch tall Lego Minifigs representing Galileo Galilei, the Roman god Jupiter, and his wife Juno.
NASA engineers thought it would be fun to include the three Lego Minifigs on the flight to Jupiter, and Lego was pleased to help create the three Minifigs sculpted from solid aluminium at a cost of $15,000. This unique collaboration between NASA and Lego aims to inspire children and adults alike to take an interest in space exploration and science.
The Mission Objectives
The Juno spacecraft is expected to arrive at Jupiter in 2016, and has been sent to investigate the gas giant’s origins, structure, atmosphere, and magnetosphere. One of the primary goals of the mission is to understand the formation and evolution of Jupiter, which in turn can provide insights into the formation of our entire solar system. Juno’s suite of scientific instruments will measure the planet’s gravity and magnetic fields, map its polar magnetosphere, and study its deep atmosphere.
Juno’s color camera, known as JunoCam, is expected to provide close-up images of Jupiter, offering the first detailed footage of the planet’s poles. These images will help scientists understand the complex weather systems and cloud formations that dominate Jupiter’s atmosphere. Additionally, Juno will study the planet’s auroras, which are the most powerful in the solar system, to gain a better understanding of the interactions between Jupiter’s magnetic field and its atmosphere.
Launch Details and Timeline
The launch period for Juno opens Aug. 5 and extends through Aug. 26. For an Aug. 5 liftoff, the launch window opens at 8:34 a.m. PDT (11:34 a.m. EDT) and remains open through 9:43 a.m. PDT (12:43 p.m. EDT). The spacecraft will be launched aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The journey to Jupiter will take approximately five years, with Juno traveling a distance of about 1.74 billion miles (2.8 billion kilometers).
During its journey, Juno will perform a series of deep space maneuvers and a gravity assist flyby of Earth to gain the necessary speed to reach Jupiter. Once it arrives, Juno will enter a highly elliptical polar orbit around the planet, allowing it to pass close to the cloud tops and then swing out far from the planet. This orbit will enable Juno to make detailed observations while minimizing its exposure to Jupiter’s intense radiation belts.
The launch period for Juno opens Aug. 5 and extends through Aug. 26. For an Aug. 5 liftoff, the launch window opens at 8:34 a.m. PDT (11:34 a.m. EDT) and remains open through 9:43 a.m. PDT (12:43 p.m. EDT). You can follow the mission on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/nasajuno.
More information about the Juno flight is available on the website.
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