Precision Springs Help Propel Juno Spacecraft to Jupiter
Part of NASA’s New Frontiers Program, the Juno Mission began Aug. 5, 2011, with the launching of United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, FL. A solar-powered spacecraft released from the rocket will travel more than 1.9 billion miles over the next four years to reach Jupiter in 2016.
Upon reaching Jupiter, the spacecraft will orbit the planet’s poles 33 times. During this orbiting, eight instruments will probe beneath the planet’s obscuring cloud cover to learn more about Jupiter’s origins and structure.