JPL
Careers
Education
Science & Technology
JPL Logo
JPL Logo
Solar System
.

NASA's Juno is Halfway to Jupiter

Aug. 12, 2013
A computer-generated image depicts NASA's Juno spacecraft.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA's Juno spacecraft has reached the halfway mark on its journey to Jupiter.

PASADENA, Calif. - NASA's Juno spacecraft is halfway to Jupiter. The Jovian-system-bound spacecraft reached the milestone today (8/12/13) at 5:25 a.m. PDT (8:25 a.m. EDT/12:25 UTC).

"Juno's odometer just clicked over to 9.464 astronomical units," said Juno Principal Investigator Scott Bolton, of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. "The team is looking forward, preparing for the day we enter orbit around the most massive planet in our solar system."

For those astronomical-unitly challenged, an astronomical unit (AU) is a unit of measure used by space engineers and scientists when discussing the massive distances involved in the exploration of our solar system - and beyond. An AU is based on the distance between Earth and the sun and is 92,955,807.273 miles (149,597,870.7 kilometers) long. The 9.464 astronomical units Juno has already traveled (or still has left to go) is equivalent to 879,733,760 miles (or 1,415,794,248 kilometers). Juno was 34.46 million miles (55.46 million kilometers) from Earth when the milestone was reached. The next milestone in the nearly five-year journey to Jupiter will occur this October, when the spacecraft flies past Earth in search of a little extra speed.

"On Oct. 9, Juno will come within 347 miles (559 kilometers) of Earth," said the mission's Project Manager Rick Nybakken of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "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."

Juno will arrive at Jupiter on July 4, 2016, at 7:29 p.m. PDT (10:29 p.m. EDT).

Juno was launched on Aug. 5, 2011. Once in orbit around Jupiter, the spacecraft will circle the planet 33 times, from pole to pole, and use its collection of eight science instruments to probe beneath the gas giant's obscuring cloud cover. Juno's science team will learn about Jupiter's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere, and look for a potential solid planetary core.

Juno's name comes from Greek and Roman mythology. The god 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.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the Juno mission for the principal investigator, Scott Bolton, of Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. The Juno mission is part of the New Frontiers Program managed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the spacecraft. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

More information about Juno is online at http://www.nasa.gov/juno and http://missionjuno.swri.edu .

News Media Contact

DC Agle

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

818-393-9011

agle@jpl.nasa.gov

2013-246

Related News

Mars .

My Favorite Martian Image: ‘Enchanted’ Rocks at Jezero Crater

Mars .

Help NASA Scientists Find Clouds on Mars

Robotics .

Swarm of Tiny Swimming Robots Could Look for Life on Distant Worlds

Mars .

NASA’s Curiosity Takes Inventory of Key Life Ingredient on Mars

Asteroids and Comets .

NASA to Discuss Psyche Asteroid Mission

Mars .

NASA Mars Orbiter Releasing One of Its Last Rainbow-Colored Maps

Mars .

NASA’s Curiosity Captures Stunning Views of a Changing Mars Landscape

Mars .

NASA’s InSight Gets a Few Extra Weeks of Mars Science

Mars .

NASA, Partner Establish New Research Group for Mars Sample Return Program

Solar System .

NASA’s Europa Clipper Mission Completes Main Body of the Spacecraft

Explore More

Image .

Radar Observations of Near-Earth Asteroid 7335 1989 JA

Event June 30, 2022 .

JPL & the Space Age: The Pathfinders

Image .

Revealing Europa Clipper's Core

Image .

Europa Clipper's Core

Image .

NASA's Europa Clipper Arrives in Southern California

Image .

Europa Clipper: Rolling Into NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Image .

Juno Skims the Cloud Tops of Jupiter

Event Aug. 18, 2022 .

Voyager – 45 Years in Space

Event July 21, 2022 .

Curiosity – A Decade on Mars

Event June 23, 2022 .

Spacecraft Assembly, Test, and Launch Operations (ATLO)

About JPL
Who We Are
Executive Council
Directors
Careers
Internships
The JPL Story
JPL Achievements
Documentary Series
Annual Reports
Missions
Current
Past
Future
All
News
All
Earth
Solar System
Stars and Galaxies
Subscribe to JPL News
Galleries
Images
Videos
Audio
Podcasts
Apps
Visions of the Future
Slice of History
Robotics at JPL
Events
Lecture Series
Team Competitions
Speakers Bureau
Calendar
Visit
Public Tours
Virtual Tour
Topics
JPL Life
Solar System
Mars
Earth
Climate Change
Exoplanets
Stars and Galaxies
Robotics
More
Asteroid Watch
NASA's Eyes Visualizations
Universe - Internal Newsletter
Social Media
Get the Latest from JPL
Follow Us

JPL is a federally funded research and development center managed for NASA by Caltech.

More from JPL
Careers Education Science & Technology Acquisitions JPL Store
Careers
Education
Science & Technology
Acquisitions
JPL Store
Related NASA Sites
Basics of Spaceflight
Climate Kids
Earth / Global Climate Change
Exoplanet Exploration
Mars Exploration
Solar System Exploration
Space Place
NASA's Eyes Visualization Project
Voyager Interstellar Mission
NASA
Caltech
Privacy
Image Policy
FAQ
Feedback
Site Managers: Veronica McGregor, Randal Jackson
Site Editors: Tony Greicius, Naomi Hartono