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S.J. Bolton (JPL), Juno Science Team
The Juno mission is currently in Phase A Concept Study as a candidate for the next NASA New Frontiers program investigation. The overarching scientific goal of the Juno mission is to understand the origin and evolution of Jupiter. As the archetype of giant planets, Jupiter can provide the knowledge we need to understand the origin of our own solar system and the planetary systems being discovered around other stars. Juno’s investigation of Jupiter focuses on four themes: Origin, Interior Structure, Atmospheric Composition and Dynamics, and the Polar Magnetosphere.
The mission is a Jupiter polar orbiter which uses a spinning, solar-powered spacecraft to make global maps of the gravity, magnetic fields, and atmospheric composition of Jupiter from a unique polar orbit with a close perijove. Juno carries precise, high sensitivity radiometers, magnetometers, and gravity science systems. Juno’s 32 orbits extensively sample Jupiter’s full range of latitudes and longitudes. From its polar perspective Juno combines in situ and remote sensing observations to explore the polar magnetosphere and determine what drives Jupiter’s remarkable auroras. Without landers, probes, or returned samples, the mission has extremely low risk.
The JPL contribution to this paper was performed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 36 #4
© 2004. The American Astronomical Soceity.