Jumping for Juno

As a curious species we always look ahead and into the stars for what’s coming next. It was not until Greek civilization that we as a collective intelligence cherished and preserved the knowledge of the past. When we have information of past events we can partially predict what will happen in the future by recognizing patterns. In 2016 NASA will look back into the creation and evolution of our galaxies fifth planet, Jupiter, by examining the atmosphere’s composition and temperature, cloud migration, and the magnetic fields and auroras with a satellite named Juno.

In August of 2011 Juno will be launched into space, the satellite will complete an orbit around the earth, when this is finished the main propulsion system will be initiated and a 5 year trek to Jupiter will begin. In July of 2016 the Juno will have reached Jupiter and will make a total of 32 full orbits of the planet that will last for one year. Data collection will be done at this time.

Jupiter has an interesting atmosphere made primarily of dense clouds of various gasses, this shield safeguards information on the governing laws that our galaxy followed in its creation and early existence from outside forces. Nine incredibly advanced tools aboard Juno will carry out the uncovering of this data. These instruments will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core, map Jupiter's intense magnetic field, measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere, and observe the planet's auroras on either magnetic pole.

Juno has many obligations on its journey, but I find the investigation for water in the planets atmosphere very interesting. The possibility of finding water could solidify a planet formation theory, and give us a more correct understanding of large planets in surrounding galaxies and their possible behavior.

Juno is currently under construction by Lockheed Martin in Denver, Colorado and is on schedule for its date of completion and launch. Although the process of gathering, examining, and understanding information from sky and beyond has always been tedious, complicated, and frowned upon we will continue to advance our collective intelligence until our appetite for knowledge is satisfied.

NASA website,

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/juno/news/juno20100405.html