The Juno spacecraft passes in front of Jupiter in this artist's depiction.
Juno, the second mission in NASA's New Frontiers program, is solar powered
and will blast off for the largest planet in our solar system in August 2011 and investigate the origin and evolution of Jupiter. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Juno, NASA’s next big mission bound for the outer planets, has arrived at the Kennedy Space Center to kick off the final leg of launch preparations in anticipation ofblastoff for Jupiter this summer.
The huge solar-powered Juno spacecraft will skim to within 4800 kilometers (3000 miles) of the cloud tops of Jupiter to study the origin and evolution of our solar system’s largest planet. Understanding the mechanism of how Jupiter formed will lead to a better understanding of the origin of planetary systems around other stars throughout our galaxy.
Juno will be spinning like a windmill (...)
Provided by Universe Today
