"Welcome to Jupiter" - NASA's Juno Spacecraft Enters Orbit Around Jupiter

Following a 2.8 billion kilometer inter-planetary journey lasting almost five years, NASA's Juno spacecraft has successfully entered orbit around Jupiter on a bold mission to unlock the secrets of our solar system and its largest planet.

Artists rendering of Juno approaching Jupiter
credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Amid rapturous scenes in Juno Mission Control in NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory(JPL) in Pasadena, California, Jupiter orbit insertion was confirmed at 11:53 p.m. EDT marking the probe's long-awaited arrival at the gas giant.

Travelling at speeds of 58 kilometers a second(making it the fastest spacecraft to enter orbit around a planet), Juno fired its onboard engine for a risky thirty-five minute burn(insertion maneuver) on time at 11:18 p.m.

“The spacecraft worked perfectly, which is always nice when you’re driving a vehicle with 1.7 billion miles on the odometer,” said Rick Nybakken, Juno project manager from JPL.

The burn occurred at the spacecraft’s closest approach to Jupiter, and slowed it enough to be captured by the giant planet’s gravity into a 53.5-day orbit.

Following an initial capture orbit, Jupiter will begin recording scientific data on its third orbit of the planet by which point the spacecraft will have entered a more stable 14 day-orbit.

Flying from north to south, the spacecraft’s point of closest approach above the cloud tops varies with each flyby -- coming as close as about 2,600 miles (4,200 kilometers) and as far out as 4,900 miles (7,900 kilometers). As Juno exits over the south pole, its orbit carries it far beyond even the orbit of the Jovian moon Callisto.

After the main engine burn, Juno will be in orbit around Jupiter. The spacecraft will spin down from 5 to 2 RPM, turn back toward the sun, and ultimately transmit telemetry via its high-gain antenna.

Over the course of this historic mission Juno will complete thirty-seven orbits over the next twenty months before burning up in Jupiter;s atmosphere to bring the mission to an end in February 2018.

“Independence Day always is something to celebrate, but today we can add to America’s birthday another reason to cheer - Juno is at Jupiter,” said NASA administrator Charlie Bolden.

The main goals of the Juno mission include:

-To find out how much water is in Jupiter's atmosphere, which helps determine which planet formation theory is correct (or if new theories are needed).
-To look deep into Jupiter's atmosphere to measure composition, temperature, cloud motions and other properties.
-To map Jupiter's magnetic and gravity fields, revealing the planet's deep structure
-To explore and study Jupiter's magnetosphere near the planet's poles, especially the auroras – Jupiter's northern and southern lights – providing new insights about how the planet's enormous magnetic force field affects its atmosphere.
-The possible discovery of new Jovian moons.

Juno's view of a half-lit Jupiter and four of its moons before all scientific
instruments were turned off prior to Jupiter Orbit Insertion(JOI) credit: NASA/JPL

                                                                                                                                                One of the main mission objectives is to discover how a giant planet like Jupiter came into being,  and how it evolved. This cloudy world is a primary example of a giant planet, and can also give us  clues as to how other giant gas planets(called "Hot-Jupiters") which we have discovered orbiting  other stars, may have formed.

Juno will accomplish this by studying the planet's cloudy atmosphere and its overall composition. By the end of the mission it is hoped that we will be able to see how Jupiter was born, and how important of a role it played in the formation of other planets in the solar system.

Using the suite of scientific instruments aboard Juno, teams back on Earth will study the magnetosphere of Jupiter, which will tell us if Jupiter has a solid core, and how big or small it might be.

Why the name Juno?
In Greek and Roman mythology, Jupiter was the king of the gods, as well as god of the sky and thunder. Jupiter drew a veil of clouds around himself to hide his mischief, and his wife, the goddess Juno, was able to peer through the clouds and reveal Jupiter's true nature.

Thank you for reading Irish Space Blog!

More information on the Juno mission is available at: http://www.nasa.gov/juno

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Reader's Top 5 Space Events of 2015

Earlier this month we asked our readers to submit what they thought was their favourite astronomical/space event of the past year. We were flooded with responses ranging from the solar eclipse of March 20 to meteor showers to the New Horizons flyby of Pluto.

So without further ado, here are your favourite space events of 2015!

1. "Supermoon" Lunar Eclipse

By far the most popular event, receiving twice the number of votes than second place, it's clear that the lunar eclipse on September 28 has a special place in our reader's hearts. And why wouldn't it? 

David Blanchflower captured this stunning image of the eclipse
from Newcastle, England (credit: David Blanchflower)

Encompassing more than half the planet, those lucky enough to catch a glimpse between clouds were wowed by what they saw, and those who stayed up into the wee hours of the morning were kindly rewarded for their efforts.

For many, it will be remembered as the night the Moon turned blood red- a "blood Moon." 

However, this was no ordinary lunar eclipse. What made this one special was the fact that it occurred during a Supermoon- when the Moon is full at its closest point to Earth in its orbit. While lunar eclipses happen all the time, supermoon lunar eclipses are rare- with the next one occurring in 2033!

2. The New Horizons Flyby of Pluto

Pluto seen by New Horizons at a distance of 280,000 miles
(credit: NASA)

                                                  

On July 14 2015, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft made history by becoming the first space probe to make a close flyby to observe dwarf planet Pluto and its moons.

Launching from Florida in 2006, it took over nine years for New Horizons to reach the distant Kuiper Belt object. In fact, the journey took so long that Pluto was demoted from a planet to a dwarf planet during its transit. But Pluto didn't disappoint, with New Horizons capturing stunning images like these which allowed scientists back on Earth try and understand how dwarf planets first came into existence.

Now that Pluto has finally been checked off the list of heavenly bodies in our solar system to explore, New Horizons is now setting its sights on a new target to explore. It's currently headed for Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU69 with arrival scheduled for January 1 2019.

3. Solar Eclipse of March 20

There's no better way to demonstrate the alignment of objects in our solar system than a solar eclipse. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes in front of the Sun- turning day into night and back again all within a few minutes. 

The solar eclipse of March 20 was visible from most of Europe with totality only visible from the Faroe Islands. Unfortunately most eclipse hunters who made the trip to the islands in the North Atlantic were clouded over. But it wasn't all bad news as some great shots of the total solar eclipse were captured by people in aircraft flying above the clouds. Check out this cool video taken from a plane flying high over the Atlantic where the view was much, much more spectacular.

For the rest of Europe a partial solar eclipse was visible, allowing viewers on the ground to view and take photographs of the rare celestial event. The next partial solar eclipse visible from Ireland takes place on August 21 2017, when viewers situated in a long corridor spanning the United States will witness totality.

4. The Perseid Meteor Shower

In the northern hemisphere the Perseid Meteor Shower always ranks among the favourite astronomical events of the year- never failing to disappoint. With up to fifty meteors per hour visible in dark skies, it's easy to spend hours looking up and watching debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle slam into the Earth’s upper atmosphere at around 210,000 kilometers (130,000 miles) per hour, lighting up the nighttime with fast-moving shooting stars.

Check out this amazing shot of Perseid meteors and the Milky Way over Mount Ranier in Washington State(credit: Matthew Dietrich).

5. The discovery of liquid water on Mars

On September 28 NASA announced that liquid water has been discovered on the surface of Mars!(See: NASA Has Found Liquid Water on Mars)

Based on images taken over several years from the NASA's Mars Reconaissance Orbiter(MRO), currently orbiting the red planet, there is enough evidence to suggest that liquid water does in fact exist on the surface of Mars today. MRO has been orbiting Mars since 2006.

“This is a significant development, as it appears to confirm that water - albeit briny - is flowing today on the surface of Mars.” -John Grunsfeld, astronaut and associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. 

Recurring Slope Lineae at Hale Crater, Mars
(credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona)

Using the orbiter's imaging spectrometer, scientists have observed that dark streaks on the Martian surface appear to ebb and flow over time. These darks streaks are known as recurring slope lineae(RSL) and appear to flow down steep slopes during warmer months, then fade away during colder months.

September 28 will go down in history as the day when humans stopped thinking of the existence of water on Mars as science fiction and instead turned it into science reality. In the words of Grunsfeld, "Stay tuned to science because science never sleeps and we've got lots of discoveries(left to make)."


What was your favourite space event of 2015? Let us know by tweeting us @irishspaceblog
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NASA Has Found Liquid Water on Mars

NASA has announced today that it has gathered concrete evidence that liquid water exists on Mars.

Based on images taken over several years from the NASA's Mars Reconaissance Orbiter(MRO), currently orbiting the red planet, there is enough evidence to suggest that liquid water does in fact exist on the surface of Mars today. MRO has been orbiting Mars since 2006.

Using the orbiter's imaging spectrometer, scientists have observed that dark streaks on the Martian surface appear to ebb and flow over time. These darks streaks are known as recurring slope lineae(RSL) and appear to flow down steep slopes during warmer months, then fade away during colder months.

Recurring Slope Lineae at Hale Crater, Mars
credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

These lineae have been spotted in several locations across the planet, in regions where temperatures average higher than 23 Degrees Celsius.The RSLs are only a few meters in width and average around a hundred meters in length. The space agency now hopes to obtain higher resolution imagery of these surface features using the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on MRO.

Another intriguing find was the discovery of hydrated salts on the slopes which could point to what that relationship may be to these dark features. The hydrated salts would lower the freezing point of a liquid brine, just as salt on roads here on Earth causes ice and snow to melt more rapidly. Scientists say it’s likely a shallow subsurface flow, with enough water wicking to the surface to explain the darkening.

John Grunsfeld, astronaut and associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “This is a significant development, as it appears to confirm that water - albeit briny - is flowing today on the surface of Mars.”

The spectrometer observations show signatures of hydrated salts at multiple RSL locations, but only when the dark features were relatively wide. When the researchers looked at the same locations and RSL weren't as extensive, they detected no hydrated salt.

However Alfred McEwan, Principle Investigator of HiRISE was quick to reassure people at a news conference at NASA Headquarters in Washington that we do not have a situation where there are no streams or rivers of fast flowing water, but rather "Thin layers of wet soil."

In conclusion, it must be said that today will go down in history as the day when humans stopped thinking of the existence of water on Mars as unfathomable, perhaps even laughable, and instead turned it into an opportunity for humans to explore.

In the words of Grunsfeld, "Stay tuned to science because science never sleeps and we've got lots of discoveries(left to make)."

Thank you for reading Irish Space Blog!

Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Google+

All You Need to Know About NASA's Juno Spacecraft & What Will We Learn from its Mission to Jupiter?

On August 12 2013, NASA's Juno Spacecraft reached the halfway point on it's journey to Jupiter.
Since launching back in 2011, it has traveled a little over 9.46 Astronomical Units(The distance from the Earth to the Sun is 1 AU), and has performed a series of planetary flybys and deep space maneuvers. In October of this year, Juno will come within 350 miles of Earth's surface. This is known as a gravity assist, or a gravitational slingshot. After Juno says its farewells to planet Earth for the final time, it will race towards the Jovian system before its slated arrival time of 3:29 a.m. UTC, give or take a few minutes!

But before we start asking about what we are expecting to learn from Juno's voyage, let's ask ourselves a few simpler questions about Juno itself..


Why the name Juno?
In Greek and Roman mythology, Jupiter was the king of the gods, as well as god of the sky and thunder. Jupiter drew a veil of clouds around himself to hide his mischief, and his wife, the goddess Juno, was able to peer through the clouds and reveal Jupiter's true nature.


Why does Juno need a gravity assist from Earth?
Well, to put it simply, there just wasn't enough rocket power available to launch a payload of Juno's size directly to Jupiter- over 400 million miles away. Instead, Juno was launched out past the orbit of Mars, before it performed crucial Deep Space Maneuvers to set itself up for October's flyby of Earth. Juno Mission Project Manager Rick Nybakken explains further;

"On Oct. 9, Juno will come within 347 miles (559 kilometers) of Earth. The Earth flyby will give Juno a kick in the pants, boosting its velocity by 16,330 mph (about 7.3 kilometers per second). From there, it's next stop Jupiter... Almost like a second launch for free"!

Confused? Well, think of it this way. If a golfer hits a putt towards the edge of the hole, and the ball does not fall into the cup, instead, hitting the very edge of the hole and "Lipping out", the ball will shoot off in another direction at a faster speed than before. You got the hang of this? Right, let's move on.


When Juno arrives at Jupiter in 2016, it will orbit the gaseous planet for around a year, completing 33 orbits around the planet's poles, using onboard scientific equipment to probe beneath the planet's obscuring yet beautiful clouds.

The main goals of the Juno mission are:

-To find out how much water is in Jupiter's atmosphere, which helps determine which planet formation theory is correct (or if new theories are needed).
-To look deep into Jupiter's atmosphere to measure composition, temperature, cloud motions and other properties.
-To map Jupiter's magnetic and gravity fields, revealing the planet's deep structure
-To explore and study Jupiter's magnetosphere near the planet's poles, especially the auroras – Jupiter's northern and southern lights – providing new insights about how the planet's enormous magnetic force field affects its atmosphere.

Juno's patch to Jupiter
credit: NASA

One of the main mission objectives is to discover how a giant planet like Jupiter came into being, and how it evolved. This cloudy world is a primary example of a giant planet, and can also give us clues as to how other giant gas planets(called "Hot-Jupiters") which we have discovered orbiting other stars, may have formed.

Juno will accomplish this by studying the planet's cloudy atmosphere and its overall composition. By the end of the mission it is hoped that we will be able to see how Jupiter was born, and how important of a role it played in the formation of other planets in the solar system.

Using the suite of scientific instruments aboard Juno, teams back on Earth will study the magnetosphere of Jupiter, which will tell us if Jupiter has a solid core, and how big or small it might be.

End Mission

After completing primary mission objectives and 33 orbits around Jupiter in 2017, Juno will perform a series of de-orbit burns to take the spacecraft out of Jovian orbit and into a destructive re-entry in Jupiter's upper atmosphere.

But first, on October 9th 2013, Juno will return to within 350 miles of Earth to say one last goodbye to planet Earth, before heading to Jupiter to try and unlock some of the secrets of our solar system's biggest planet.