NASA's Juno spacecraft to arrive at Jupiter on July 4

After a journey of almost five years, NASA’s Juno, the solar-powered spacecraft, is all set to arrive at Jupiter on July 4. NASA’s Juno mission aims at unveiling secrets about the origin of Jupiter as well as the entire solar system. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California will hold news briefings, photo opportunities and other media events. Air live on NASA Television and the agency's website will also be held.

A suspenseful orbit insertion maneuverer, a 35-minute main engine burn, will be performed on July 4 in the evening. This will be done to slow the spacecraft by about 1,212 miles per hour (542 meters per second) so that it gets captured into the gas giant's orbit.
After entering into the orbit of Jupiter, the Juno spacecraft will circle the Jovian world 37 times during 20 months, skimming to within 3,100 miles (5,000 kilometers) above the cloud tops.

This is the first time that a spacecraft will orbit the poles of Jupiter. It may provide new answers to the mysteries surrounding Jupiter’s core, composition and magnetic fields. Juno will also be the second probe to orbit Jupiter. The first one was Galileo spacecraft, which orbited the planet from 1995-2003. The coverage of orbit insertion will go live on July 4 at 10:30 PM.

Below is the complete information to catch the live coverage of the event:

10:30 PM, Monday, July 4: Orbit insertion and NASA TV commentary begin

To watch all of these events online, visit the following websites:

www.nasa.gov/nasatv

www.ustream.tv/nasa

www.ustream.tv/nasajpl

Live coverage on orbit insertion day also will be available online via Facebook Live at:

www.facebook.com/nasa

www.facebook.com/nasajpl

(Source: NASA)