Outer Solar System Exploration Missions.

[Sandhi Yudha]

Juno is a NASA space probe orbiting the planet Jupiter. It was built by Lockheed Martin and is operated by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to scientifically research Jupiter and its moons. It was launched in August 2011 and entered a polar orbit around Jupiter in July 2016.

NASA’s Juno spacecraft performed a close flyby of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa some days ago on 29 September 2022. The spacecraft came within 538 km, taking some of the highest-resolution images yet of portions of Europa’s surface.

Haarscherpe close-ups van oceaanmaan Europa, de eerste in 22 jaar

NASA-sonde Juno scheerde op 352 kilometer langs de maan, die onder een dikke ijslaag oceanen herbergt.

nos.nl

Juno will be just a bit more distant than the Galileo spacecraft’s closest approach to the moon (351 km) on 3 January 2000. In 2021, Juno came within 645 miles of Ganymede, and in 2023 and 2024 Juno will have close flybys of Io. The closest Juno will get to Io is about 1500 km.

Besides taking high-resolution images, Juno also collected data on the moon’s interior, surface composition and ionosphere. Plus, it recorded Europa’s interaction with Jupiter’s magnetosphere, all of which will be useful in the upcoming Europa Clipper mission, set to launch in 2024.

NASA’s Juno Shares First Image From Flyby of Jupiter’s Moon Europa

Observations from the spacecraft’s pass of the moon provided the first close-up in over two decades of this ocean world, resulting in remarkable imagery and unique science.

www.jpl.nasa.gov

 

[Sandhi Yudha]

The solar powered Juno is the second spacecraft to orbit Jupiter, after the nuclear powered Galileo orbiter, and is currently still active after more than 6,5 years orbiting Jupiter.

And now Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or simply "Juice", was launched on 14 April with an Ariane-5 rocket from Frans-Guyana and on its way to Jupiter

Juice: European Space Agency mission to Jupiter's icy moons postponed

The £1.4bn probe aims to tell us if the major moons of Jupiter could support simple life.

www.bbc.com

Juice

Juice will visit and explore three of Jupiter's moons, Europa, Ganymedes and Callisto.



PS.
Dear moderators, shall we change the thread title to "Exploration of / spacecrafts to Jupiter" , "Missions to the Outer Solar System", or keep this title?

 

[Sandhi Yudha]

NASA has corrected the communication with Voyager 2.

It is actually unbelievable that for more than 45 years after launch in 1977, Voyager 2 is still alive. This is thanks to the three Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators on board.
These three RTGs continued to provide power to five of a total of 11 scientific instruments on board through the early part of 2023. In April 2023 JPL began using a reservoir of backup power intended for an onboard safety mechanism. As a result, all five instruments will hopefully continue operation through 2026.

NASA herstelt sneller dan verwacht contact met ruimtesonde Voyager 2

Door op goed geluk signalen de ruimte in de sturen, wist de NASA het contact met de sonde te herstellen.

nos.nl

 

[Ananda]

From LM FB pages on USAF research laboratory contract for LM in developing nuclear propulsion. This is supposed tech that already mature decades ago. Seems being dust off, as I suspect it is still the best alternative energy for deep space travel.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid027myFvvcxuHXdPXbHH4NyGvWrzfgxuVdWi3DA1LprNM9vKDwFqctJJHuDrYV3w7vpl&id=100064588728131&mibextid=ZbWKwL

 

[Sandhi Yudha]

NASA's Juno spacecraft made a close flyby of Jupiter's intriguing moon Europa in 2022, revealing potential hints of present day surface activity.

The spacecraft's Stellar Reference Unit (SRU), which is a star camera designed to assist Juno's onboard attitude determination, was used to image Europa's surface with high resolution. These images show us that a part of Europa's surface has changed, compared to old photos taken by Galileo.

NASA Juno spacecraft picks up hints of activity on Jupiter's icy moon Europa

The close approach to reveal possible proof of recent surface activity in the Jovan system.

www.space.com