Welcome to Jupiter - NASA's Juno spacecraft makes it to Jupiterorbit!

[GIGObuster]

Juno probe enters Jupiter's orbit following 'amazing' Nasa mission – as it...

“Welcome to jupiter”

“Welcome to jupiter,” a voice said over the radio at Nasa’s JPL, with scientists cheering, clapping and hugging each other.

The burn time was within one second of the predicted time, putting it in exactly the orbit it needed.

“You’re the best team ever! We just did the hardest thing Nasa has ever done,” shouted, principle investigator of the Juno mission, Scott Bolton.

More information from NASA’s Juno mission here:

Juno - Mission to Jupiter

[Onomatopoeia]

I watched the JOI process, and followed along with the Nasa’s Eyes app. Pretty cool.

[GIGObuster]

Cool item of the mission: Inside the space craft there are no astronauts, but there are a few small Lego figures made of special aluminum. Jupiter/Zeus, Juno the wife of Jupiter and Galileo Galilei.

http://www.space.com/12546-lego-figures-jupiter-juno-spacecraft.html

The trio resemble the typical small toys that LEGO sells, but are made out of metal.

“They are basically the size of the normal LEGO figures which you will see, but they are made out of aluminum, very special aluminum and they have been prepared in a very special way,” Bolton said. “They are made out of a special space-grade aluminum. They have gone through all the testing to make sure that they fit on our spacecraft in a way that is like our other science instruments.”

The three figures are covered for the flight under thermal blankets, like much of the spacecraft.

“They are all together, right next to each other [on board Juno], being friendly,” Bolton said smiling. “They are the special passengers.”

Galileo to Jupiter

The mini-metal statues are joined on the spacecraft by another “special passenger,” one that also pays tribute to Galileo.

A 2.8-inch by 2-inch (71 mm by 51 mm) plaque also made of flight-grade aluminum is bonded to Juno’s propulsion bay with a spacecraft-grade epoxy. The graphic on the plaque shows a self-portrait of Galileo. The plaque also includes — in Galileo’s own hand — a passage he made in 1610 of observations of Jupiter, as was archived in the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale in Florence, Italy.

“This came from the Italian Space Agency, who is one of our big partners, probably the largest of the international partners … they developed this commemorative plaque to honor Galileo,” Bolton said. “I think it is a great thing [to] help the public understand the contributions that this great discovery during the Italian renaissance brought to our society.”

Galileo’s text included on the plaque reads as follows: “On the 11th it was in this formation – and the star closest to Jupiter was half the size than the other and very close to the other so that during the previous nights all of the three observed stars looked of the same dimension and among them equally afar; so that it is evident that around Jupiter there are three moving stars invisible till this time to everyone.”

“The revelations that occurred from that discovery are still with us,” Bolton said. “Understanding that we are not the center [of the solar system], in fact there are things going around Jupiter, another planet, certainly affected all of us both technologically as well as philosophically.”

[Hari_Seldon]

Like.

[levdrakon]

What a waste. We should feed the poor first.

Just kidding! I have NASA EYES installed. Congrats NASA!

Not a fan of the LEGO figurines. Did LEGO pay for that?

[Backwater_Under_Duck]

When do we get to see the new pics?

[Projammer]

The math on the flight trajectory is more than enough to give me nightmares.

Juno Mission & Trajectory Design

[levdrakon]

@Backwater_Under_Duck

When do we get to see the new pics?

Juno is in a widely elliptical orbit and I think at the moment it’s swinging away from Jupiter. Each orbit takes over an Earth month, so it won’t be until next month when it swings back and starts taking closeups.

[Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker]

Somewhat bittersweet. This is probably the last visit to the outer planets for at least 20 years, so let’s enjoy it while we can. Still have New Horizons that might get close to another KBO, though.

[cmkeller]

This is the hardest thing that NASA has ever done? Didn’t they just land on a comet and drill into its core a year ago? I would have thought that that’s harder.

Still, very cool - I love planetary close-ups. I still marvel at the Voyager II images.

[Richard_Parker]

@Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker

Somewhat bittersweet. This is probably the last visit to the outer planets for at least 20 years, so let’s enjoy it while we can. Still have New Horizons that might get close to another KBO, though.

Isn’t the EU sending a mission to Jupiter in the 2020s?

[Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker]

^^Yep, if it’s not bumped for something else. That would be an arrival in about 14 years if all goes well. I think there was a previous probe scheduled for Saturn, but it ended up getting bumped.

[Hypno-Toad]

@Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker

^^Yep, if it’s not bumped for something else. That would be an arrival in about 14 years if all goes well. I think there was a previous probe scheduled for Saturn, but it ended up getting bumped.

Yeah, well I’m not keeping track of that one. Y’all can do it.

[levdrakon]

@cmkeller

This is the hardest thing that NASA has ever done? Didn’t they just land on a comet and drill into its core a year ago? I would have thought that that’s harder.

Still, very cool - I love planetary close-ups. I still marvel at the Voyager II images.

Are you talking about ESA’s Rosetta/Philae comet mission?

[lazybratsche]

There’s also a planned mission to Europa, combining a multiple-flyby “clipper” and a small lander. It is supposed to launch between 2022 and 2025, and it’d arrive in ~6 years if launched by Atlas V, or ~3 years if launched by the SLS. The mission design is still in relatively early phases, but there’s a lot of political support from congress for this particular mission (with a budget specifically allocated) so IMO there’s a good chance it will launch on time. So we’re looking at an arrival between 2025 and maybe 2035, if there are delays.

[Onomatopoeia]

@lazybratsche

There’s also a planned mission to Europa, combining a multiple-flyby “clipper” and a small lander. It is supposed to launch between 2022 and 2025, and it’d arrive in ~6 years if launched by Atlas V, or ~3 years if launched by the SLS. The mission design is still in relatively early phases, but there’s a lot of political support from congress for this particular mission (with a budget specifically allocated) so IMO there’s a good chance it will launch on time. So we’re looking at an arrival between 2025 and maybe 2035, if there are delays.

“All These Worlds Are Yours—Except Europa. Attempt No Landing There.” :eek:

It’s funny. I think Europa is the ONLY place we should go…and with the biggest ice drill that can be built and transported.

[lazybratsche]

Forgot to include in my post: here’s an excellent article on the mission development and politics behind the Europa mission.

[cmkeller]

levdrakon:

Are you talking about ESA’s Rosetta/Philae comet mission?

Oops, you’re right, that wasn’t by NASA after all.

[Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker]

I’d like to see another probe to Neptune and Uranus, but. . . golly, they were actually pretty featureless and boring–and it would take forever to get there. And I suspect I won’t be around 135 or so years from now for the next Grand Tour launch window.

[dracoi]

@Onomatopoeia

“All These Worlds Are Yours—Except Europa. Attempt No Landing There.” :eek:

It’s funny. I think Europa is the ONLY place we should go…and with the biggest ice drill that can be built and transported.

By which you mean, something that will barely scratch the surface?

I’m just joking with you, though. Given the right tech, this is definitely the mission I’d like to see most at the moment. However, it really is a long way away from being feasible.