NASA’s Juno spacecraft will reach Jupiter on July 4 and decode its hidden secrets

Juno spacecraft to reach Jupiter on July 4

National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) solar powered spacecraft Juno will do something that has never been done before in the history of science. After flying for more than 1.7 miles over five years, it is expected that the spacecraft will on July 4 swing into the orbit around Jupiter.

So to educate the general public about NASA one of its kind mission, scientists have released an amazing 360-degree trailer of the planet and explained the history, composition and various gas elements on it.

The largest planet in the solar system has always been a mystery for scientist around the world, but as Juno becomes to orbit Jupiter in the next few days, scientists are sure that it will be able to decode the ‘gaseous planet’. NASA recently released a statement to announce that on July 4, the spacecraft will burn its main engine for 35 minutes before placing itself into the orbit of Jupiter.

For a long time, scientists around the world have debated on what lies beneath the clouds of the planet. Whether the core is solid, gas or liquid is a question that still haunts them. But if the $1.1 billion mission does succeed, it will give astronomers and researchers around the world to get a deeper insight into Jupiter.

It is a known fact that Jupiter is one of the biggest planets in the solar system, it is so huge that if we take all the planets in the Solar system and combine it together then also the ‘odd planet’ will be double the size. Jupiter orbits much faster than earth, so the day is only for 10 hours. Other than that Jupiter has been known to contain much of the original components still from the time of its formation, so Juno mission is to understand if there is the presence of water on the planet.

We all know Jupiter is primarily made of helium and hydrogen and as one gets deeper there is a change in the hydrogen. So the question that scientists raise is what if at some point Hydrogen starts behaving like metal in Jupiter. A theory that’s not seen on any other planet in the Solar system.

In the next several months Juno will have to collect data about the various chemicals, the planet’s core and how powerful is the magnetic field on Jupiter. It will also take some close-up pictures of the largest planet. Once the spacecraft gets all the required data, it will disintegrate in the planet’s harsh climate.

About the author

Nitin Agarwal

Nitin started PC-Tablet because of his keen interest in space research, technology, and gadgets. He is an avid reader, technology enthusiast, and like to explore new places. His passion for knowledge keeps him running all the time.