NASA’s Juno mission was first launched in August 2011. After a long trip, it arrived at Jupiter in 2016 and has been gathering information about the giant planet ever since.
As part of its orbit around the planet, the Juno spacecraft looks at different things and collect information based on how close it gets to the atmosphere.
On October 23rd, 2024 it completed a perijove, which is the name for a passage that is close to the atmosphere of the planet. This is the 66th time that it has completed a pass like this, and it continues to help people back on Earth learn more about how Jupiter’s atmosphere works.
One of the many things that make the Juno mission interesting is that the images that are sent back to Earth are quickly posted on on the Mission Juno website for regular people to see. Not only are they able to view the images, but those who know how can actually help process the images.
Once the images are processed, they are submitted back to the site where NASA can analyze and study them to see what secrets they may hold.
The Juno spacecraft has a number of different instruments that take different types of pictures of the planet. Those pictures then go through various types of filters and processing to help highlight different aspects of the planet.
For example, some images might have the cappuccino tones of the planet filtered out, which will help to accentuate the brighter blues and other colors that exist near the top of the atmosphere. By doing this, scientists are able to see the swirls and other shapes that exist in the atmosphere, so they can study things like weather patterns and how the atmosphere interacts.
Currently, Juno is flying by the upper atmosphere about once every 33 days and constantly gathering more information. In September 2025, however, that is scheduled to change. At this point, its mission will be ending and the spacecraft will intentionally crash into Jupiter.
While this will mean the end of the mission, the craft will be delivering information back to Earth as it crashes through the atmosphere, providing valuable data.
It is not known exactly how long into its descent the craft will be able to continue to send the information that it gathers, but every little bit will be invaluable.
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