07.21.11
NASA Briefing to Preview Upcoming Mission to Jupiter
Juno Mission to Jupiter
Launching from Earth in 2011, the Juno spacecraft will arrive at Jupiter in 2016 to study the giant planet from an elliptical, polar orbit. Juno will repeatedly dive between the planet and its intense belts of charged particle radiation, coming only 5,000 kilometers (about 3,000 miles) from the cloud tops at closest approach.
Juno's primary goal is to improve our understanding of Jupiter's formation and evolution. The spacecraft will spend a year investigating the planet's origins, interior structure, deep atmosphere and magnetosphere. Juno's study of Jupiter will help us to understand the history of our own solar system and provide new insight into how planetary systems form and develop in our galaxy and beyond.
Juno's principal investigator is Scott Bolton of Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., manages the mission. Lockheed Martin Space Systems of Denver, Colo., is building the spacecraft. The Italian Space Agency, Rome, is contributing an infrared spectrometer instrument and a portion of the radio science experiment.
Launching from Earth in 2011, the Juno spacecraft will arrive at Jupiter in 2016 to study the giant planet from an elliptical, polar orbit. Juno will repeatedly dive between the planet and its intense belts of charged particle radiation, coming only 5,000 kilometers (about 3,000 miles) from the cloud tops at closest approach.
Juno's primary goal is to improve our understanding of Jupiter's formation and evolution. The spacecraft will spend a year investigating the planet's origins, interior structure, deep atmosphere and magnetosphere. Juno's study of Jupiter will help us to understand the history of our own solar system and provide new insight into how planetary systems form and develop in our galaxy and beyond.
Juno's principal investigator is Scott Bolton of Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., manages the mission. Lockheed Martin Space Systems of Denver, Colo., is building the spacecraft. The Italian Space Agency, Rome, is contributing an infrared spectrometer instrument and a portion of the radio science experiment.
Credit: NASA/JPL
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA will hold a news briefing at 1 p.m. EDT (10 a.m. PDT) on Wednesday, July 27, at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to discuss preparations for the upcoming Juno mission to Jupiter. The briefing will be carried live on NASA Television and the agency's website.
Juno, scheduled to launch Aug. 5, will improve our understanding of our solar system's beginnings by revealing the origin and evolution of Jupiter. Juno will get closer to Jupiter than any other spacecraft and will provide images and the first detailed glimpse of its poles.
Briefing participants are:
-- Jim Green, director, Planetary Science Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington
-- Scott Bolton, Juno principal investigator, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio
-- Jan Chodas, Juno project manager, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
-- Steve Levin, Juno project scientist, JPL
-- Kaelyn Badura, Pine Ridge High School, Deltona, Fla.; high school student, Juno Education program participant and Goldstone Apple Valley Radio Telescope Project participant
For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and schedule information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/juno
For more information about Juno, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/juno.
Ustream will carry the briefing live with a chat box available at: http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl2 JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Juno mission for NASA.
Juno, scheduled to launch Aug. 5, will improve our understanding of our solar system's beginnings by revealing the origin and evolution of Jupiter. Juno will get closer to Jupiter than any other spacecraft and will provide images and the first detailed glimpse of its poles.
Briefing participants are:
-- Jim Green, director, Planetary Science Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington
-- Scott Bolton, Juno principal investigator, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio
-- Jan Chodas, Juno project manager, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
-- Steve Levin, Juno project scientist, JPL
-- Kaelyn Badura, Pine Ridge High School, Deltona, Fla.; high school student, Juno Education program participant and Goldstone Apple Valley Radio Telescope Project participant
For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and schedule information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/juno
For more information about Juno, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/juno.
Ustream will carry the briefing live with a chat box available at: http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl2 JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Juno mission for NASA.