Juno Will Use Nine Science Instruments to Study Jupiter

Posted on July 6, 2016

NASA's Juno spacecraft successfully entered orbit around Jupiter on July 4th after a five year journey. It entered orbit following a 35-minute engine burn. The spacecraft was launched on August 5, 2011.

NASA scientists celebrated the historic orbit:

Teamwork❤️! From #Jupiter to Earth: thanks, team for guiding me into orbit. And now… SCIENCE https://t.co/4tR0S3XwyD pic.twitter.com/17Bia2UTkR
— NASA's Juno Mission (@NASAJuno) July 5, 2016

Juno is carrying a suite of nine science instruments it will use to study Jupiter. You can view an image here (a larger version of the image below) on NASA that shows where the instruments are located on the spacecraft. Juno's payload of science tools includes the following:

A gravity/radio science system (Gravity Science)
A six-wavelength microwave radiometer for atmospheric sounding and composition (MWR)
A vector magnetometer (MAG)
Plasma and energetic particle detectors (JADE and JEDI)
A radio/plasma wave experiment (Waves)
An ultraviolet imager/spectrometer (UVS)
An infrared imager/spectrometer (JIRAM)
A color camera called JunoCam

Some of Juno's investigations and observations include mapping Jupiter's magnetific field and observing its auroras. It will also measure the amount of water and ammonia in Jupiter's atmosphere. Juno will investigate the existence of a solid planetary core on Jupiter. NASA says the Jupiter mission will also enable us to "take a giant step forward in our understanding of how giant planets form and the role these titans played in putting together the rest of the solar system."

The mission site for Juno is located at: nasa.gov/juno. NASA also released this trailer for the Juno Mission late last month:

SPACE
JUPITER