Solar System

Jupiter: Into the Unknown (NASA Juno Mission Trailer)

June 15, 2016

Secrets lie deep within Jupiter, shrouded in the solar system's strongest magnetic field and most lethal radiation belts. On July 4, 2016, NASA's Juno spacecraft will plunge into uncharted territory, entering orbit around the gas giant and passing closer than any spacecraft before. Juno will see Jupiter for what it really is, but first it must pass the trial of orbit insertion.

Transcript

The scariest thing to me about Juno are the unknowns.
So much about the environment that we’ll have to withstand is unknown.

(Text)

Nothing is really certain about what’s going to happen.
(music)

It's a monster.
It’s unforgiving
It’s relentless.
It’s spinning around so fast. Its gravity is like a giant sling shot, slinging rocks, dust, electrons, whole comets. Anything that gets close to it becomes its weapon.

(sound effect)

It just so happens, deep inside this body are the secrets we're after.
Secrets about our early solar system.

(sound effect)

It’s the biggest and baddest planet in the solar system and it’s got the biggest and baddest radiation and the biggest and baddest magnetic field.

The background radiation that we’re exposed to on Earth is about a third of a Rad.
What we expect to see at Jupiter is about 20 million Rad.

No spacecraft has ever flown this close to Jupiter.
Flown this deep into the radiation belts.

So the real trick is.
We’re going to go in close, get the data and get out.

And the first time we go in, that’s the most dangerous.
We call it Jupiter Orbit Insertion.
J – O – I

(Drums)

Nothing is really certain about what’s going to happen.