Nasa's Juno spacecraft carrying Lego Galileo nears Jupiter
Robotic spacecraft carries Lego figures of 17th century Italian astronomer, Roman god Jupiter and his wife Juno
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Nasa has released a new image of the Juno spacecraft as it nears Jupiter.
The probe is expected to reach the gas planet on 4 July, just under five years since it was launched.
On 11 June, Juno turned itself on and began sending and receiving data around the clock as it prepares for the end of its 1.4 billion-mile journey from Earth.
It will enter a long polar orbit flying to within 2,900 miles (4,667 km) of the planet's swirling cloud tops.
Unusually, on board the robotic spacecraft there are three passengers – special edition Lego figures depicting the 17th century Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, the Roman god Jupiter and the deity’s wife Juno.
The figures are made out of aluminium instead of plastic so they can withstand the extreme conditions of spaceflight.
A plaque dedicated to Galileo provided by the Italian Space Agency is also on board.
No previous spacecraft has orbited so close to Jupiter as two previous attempts were destroyed after plunging through the planet’s gaseous atmosphere.
To complete the mission Juno will have to survive a radiation storm generated by Jupiter’s magnetic field. The planet has the harshest radiation environment in the Solar System.
To cope with the conditions, Juno is protected with special radiation-hardened wiring and sensor shielding.
Its all-important "brain" – the spacecraft's flight computer – is housed in an armoured vault made of titanium and weighing almost 400 pounds (172kg).
Dr Scott Bolton, Juno's principal investigator from Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, US, said: "We are not looking for trouble, we are looking for data.
"Problem is, at Jupiter, looking for the kind of data Juno is looking for, you have to go in the kind of neighbourhoods where you could find trouble pretty quick."
The craft was launched into space by an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida on 5 August 2011.
Additional reporting by PA
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments