Juno successfully entered orbit around Jupiter July 4. Its suite of instruments will be switched on this week and will begin sending useful data late next month. “Our official science collection phase begins in October, but we’ve figured out a way to collect data a lot earlier than that,” said Scott Bolton, principal investigator of Juno from Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. “There is a lot to see and do here.”
Here’s a look at the scientific payload:
- A gravity/radio science system (GS) will map the planet’s gravity and magnetic fields.
- A six-wavelength microwave radiometer (MWR) for atmospheric sounding and composition will probe Jupiter’s atmosphere and look for water.
- Plasma and energetic particle detectors (JADE, for Jovian Auroral Distributions Experiment, and JEDI, for Jupiter Energetic-particle Detector) and a radio/plasma wave experiment (Waves) will sample electric fields, particles, and plasma waves surrounding Jupiter.
- An ultraviolet imager/spectrometer (UVS) and an infrared imager/spectrometer (JIRAM, for Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper) will employ ultraviolet and infrared cameras to take images of the auroras and determine chemical fingerprints of the gases present.
Other instruments include a fluxgate magnetometer and advanced stellar compass. The spacecraft also carries a color camera, called JunoCam, which will provide the first detailed glimpse of Jupiter’s poles.
Juno rotates, which provides stability and enables its instruments fields of view to sweep across Jupiter about 400 times in the time it takes to travel from pole to pole. An elliptical orbit helps avoid the most intense radiation. In addition, sensitive electronics are housed in a shielded vault.
Juno takes 11 days to orbit Jupiter, which has a 10-hour day. The mission’s 33 planned orbits will enable its instruments to cover the planet’s entire surface.
NASA says Juno is the first solar-powered spacecraft to operate at such great distances from the sun, employing solar cells that are 50% more efficient than those available 20 years ago.
NASA provides a diagram of Juno’s instruments here.
