NASA explorer approaches Jupiter closer than ever before

The space explorer Juno flew, relatively speaking, close to the planet Jupiter on Saturday, at a distance of ‘only’ 4200 kilometers. Never before has a spacecraft managed to get so close to the gas planet. As a result, sharp photos are expected soon.

The achievement hopes NASA, which controls Juno, can gain more knowledge about Jupiter. For this purpose, the spacecraft has all kinds of sensors on board, which can make valuable measurements due to the relatively short distance to the planet. Photos are also taken by Juno, although it may take some time before they reach Earth and are processed into a presentable product.

Because of the fly-by, NASA turned the measuring instruments back on some time ago; during the journey to the gas planet, these were turned off to save energy. However, all devices, 29 sensors in total, would be successfully powered back on. In the unlikely event that something goes wrong, NASA will have a few more chances: in total there are still 35 occasions when Juno will skim past the planet at a relatively close distance, before the mission ends in 2018.

Juno was launched on August 5, 2011. So it took several years for the spacecraft to arrive, but it has been in orbit around Jupiter since last month. Juno currently has a speed of 208,000 kilometers per hour.