Juno blasts off for Jupiter

Aug 5, 2011, 16:43 GMT

Washington - A Jupiter-bound space probe blasted off atop an Atlas V rocket from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on Friday, beginning a five-year trip to the solar system's largest planet.

The Juno spacecraft launched at 12:25 pm (1625 GMT), nearly an hour later than planned after ground crews had to conduct tests on a possible problem with the rocket's helium system and a boat sailed too close in the waters off the spaceport.

Juno is expected to reach Jupiter's orbit by July 2016 and then orbit the planet for one year. It is expected to graze Jupiter's highest clouds at a distance of 5,000 kilometres from the surface.

It will be powered by massive solar panels, making it the first solar-powered craft to travel so far from Earth.

About an hour after launch, Juno successfully separated from its rocket and was on its way to the gaseous planet. It was to travel the distance from the Earth to the moon on its first day in orbit.

Researchers hope the mission will provide clues about the formation of the solar system because Jupiter is believed to be the oldest planet orbiting the Sun. The mission aims to go closer to the planet than any previous spacecraft, measuring the moisture in its toxic atmosphere.

'Jupiter is the Rosetta Stone of our solar system,' said Scott Bolton, Juno's principal investigator from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio.

'It is by far the oldest planet, contains more material than all the other planets, asteroids and comets combined and carries deep inside it the story of not only the solar system but of us. Juno is going there as our emissary - to interpret what Jupiter has to say.'

The 1.1-billion-dollar mission will use instruments aboard the craft to look below the planet's swirling cloud cover. The primary focus will be on measuring water in Jupiter's atmosphere to test theories about planet formation. The most recent mission to the planet found hardly any water in the atmosphere and scientists wonder why.

In more than 30 orbits around the planet, Juno will map Jupiter's magnetic and gravitational fields to gather data about what is at the planet's core.

The probe will also take measurements of the planet's composition, temperature and clouds and examine how its magnetic force affects the atmosphere.

The launch of NASA's newest project offers a bit of upbeat news, just weeks 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.

The most recent spacecraft sent to Jupiter launched more than two decades ago. That probe, called Galileo, was the only craft to actually orbit the planet and Juno seeks to answer some of the questions left from that mission.

The first visit to Jupiter was made by the Pioneer 10 in a flyby in 1973.

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. Researchers hope the mission will provide a window back in time to provide clues about the formation of the solar system.

Read more about Jupiter