Juno (spacecraft)

Juno is an unmanned NASA New Frontiers spacecraft. It studies the planet Jupiter from orbit. It is the first mission to an outer planet to use solar panels for power instead of a radioisotope thermoelectric generator. The spacecraft was launched on August 5, 2011 from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and entered a polar orbit of Jupiter on July 5, 2016. Scott Bolton is leading the mission.^[6]

Juno

Artist's rendering of the Juno spacecraft
Mission type	Jupiter orbiter
Operator	NASA / JPL
COSPAR ID	2011-040A
SATCAT no.	37773
Website	nasa.gov/juno (NASA) missionjuno.swri.edu (SwRI)
Mission duration	Planned: 7 years Elapsed: 12 years, 8 months, 20 days Cruise: 4 years, 10 months, 29 days Science phase: 4 years (extended until September 2025)
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer	Lockheed Martin
Launch mass	3,625 kg (7,992 lb)[1]
Dry mass	1,593 kg (3,512 lb)[2]
Dimensions	20.1 × 4.6 m (66 × 15 ft)[2]
Power	14 kW at Earth,[2] 435 W at Jupiter[1] 2 × 55-ampere-hour lithium-ion batteries[2]
Start of mission
Launch date	August 5, 2011, 16:25 (2011-08-05UTC16:25) UTC
Rocket	Atlas V 551 (AV-029)
Launch site	Cape Canaveral SLC-41
Contractor	United Launch Alliance
Flyby of Earth
Closest approach	October 9, 2013
Distance	559 km (347 mi)
Jupiter orbiter
Orbital insertion	July 5, 2016, 03:53 UTC[3] 7 years, 9 months, 20 days ago
Orbits	37 (planned)[4][5]
Orbit parameters
Perijove	4,200 km (2,600 mi) altitude 75,600 km (47,000 mi) radius
Apojove	8.1 million km (5.0 million mi)
Inclination	90 degrees (polar orbit)
Instruments MWR Microwave Radiometer JIRAM Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper MAG Magnetometer GRAV Gravity Science JADE Jovian Auroral Distributions Experiment JEDI Jovian Energetic Particle Detector Instrument Waves Radio and Plasma Wave Sensor UVS Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph
Juno mission insignia New Frontiers program ← New Horizons OSIRIS-REx →

Juno's main goal is to understand the origin and evolution of Jupiter.^[6][7][8][9] Juno will also study the planet's atmospheric composition, gravity field, magnetic field, and polar magnetosphere.^[7][9][10]