NASA aims for Jupiter: tonic for shuttle let-down

Jul 27, 2011, 23:06 GMT

Washington - Just weeks after retiring its signature shuttle programme, NASA will forge ahead with a new mission to Jupiter to be launched August 5.

The 1.1-billion-dollar Juno mission aims to go closer to the planet than any previous spacecraft, measuring the moisture in its toxic atmosphere.

The aim is to 'unlock the secrets of the early solar system,' principal investigator Scott Bolton told reporters Wednesday.

The launch of NASA's newest project offers a bit of upbeat news, just a week after the very last shuttle, Atlantis, returned to Earth from its final mission to the space station, ending its 30-year leading role in human space flight.

Juno is expected to reach the solar system's largest planet by 2016, orbiting Jupiter at its poles 33 times over the following year. It is expected to graze Jupiter's highest clouds at a distance of 5,000 kilometres from the surface.

Jupiter is believed to be the first planet to have formed in the solar system, and likely captured many elements and gasses that were not used in formation of the sun.

'If we want to go back in time and understand where we came from and how the planets were made, Jupiter holds the secret, because it's got most of the leftovers after the sun formed,' Bolton said in a teleconference from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

'We want to know that ingredient list. What we're really after is discovering the recipe for making planets.'

Juno will also measure the planet's magnetic and gravity fields.

Because of the strong radiation in Jupiter's swirling atmosphere, Juno is equipped with a strong outer shell.

'We're basically an armored tank going to Jupiter,' Bolton said.

Juno, which weighs 3,600 kilograms, was moved Wednesday morning to its launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and mounted onto the Atlas 5 launch vehicle. Once on its way, it will be powered by solar cells.

At the end of the year of observation, Juno will be sent to its doom into Jupiter to avoid hitting any of the planet's moons.

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