Monday, April 29, 2013

Juno Mission Update 4/29/13


Juno spacecraft 3

Mission Elapsed Time:
633 Days (1.73 yrs.) 10 Hours 45 Minutes
Time to Earth Flyby Gravity Assist:
162 Days 16 Hours 11 Minutes
Time to Jupiter Arrival:
3 Years 67 Days 23 Hours 16 Minutes
 
As of April 29, Juno was approximately 52 million miles (84 million kilometers) from Earth. The one-way radio signal travel time between Earth and Juno is currently about 4.7 minutes. Juno is currently traveling at a velocity of about 15 miles (24 kilometers) per second relative to the sun. Velocity relative to Earth is about 6.8 miles (11 kilometers) per second.
 
Juno 4-29-13
Juno's Course and Position as of 4/29/13
 
Juno has now traveled 704 million miles since launch -- this is approximately 40 percent of the total distance the spacecraft travels between launch and orbit insertion at Jupiter. The Juno spacecraft is in excellent health and is operating nominally. Four instruments -- JEDI, MWR, Waves, and MAG -- are turned on.  Juno is currently headed back toward the inner solar system for a planned Earth flyby gravity assist maneuver on Oct. 9, 2013. The Juno mission operations team is continuing their planning activities in advance of this critical maneuver. The gravity assist will give the spacecraft the boost it needs to reach Jupiter, where it is slated to arrive in July 2016.
 
 
 
Voyager pnoto of Jupiter
 
 

 
 

 


A high resolution image of Jupiter's clouds taken by NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft as it flew past the planet in March 1979.
 
Artists Jupiter clourdscape
Artist's rendering of a Jupiter cloudscape.
 
Jupiter's red spot close up
Jupiter's clouds can swirl rapidly in raised high-pressure storm systems that circle the planet. The above pictured white ovals are located near the Great Red Spot, and have persisted on Jupiter since the 1930s. The Great Red Spot has persisted for at least 300 years. Currently, no one knows why ovals last as long as they do. White ovals are confined to circular belts around Jupiter, but can interact to cause nearby chaotic cloud regions.
 
Diagram showing Jupiter's theorietical characteristics
Diagram showing theoretical conditions, temperatures, and pressures in Jupiter's interior.