NASA's solar-powered Jupiter probe

The unmanned spacecraft Juno will orbit our solar system's gaseous giant 34 times, in a quest to unlock Jupiter's many mysteries

The Juno spacecraft passes in front of Jupiter, in this artist's depiction of an event that is expected to occur in 2016.
(Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Even though it's the largest planet in our solar system, Jupiter is also one of the least understood. In the coming years, however, it might be forced to give up some of its secrets — NASA is planning to launch an unmanned spacecraft on Aug. 5 that will orbit Jupiter 34 times. The craft, Juno, heralds a new era for the space agency following the end of its shuttle program. The Juno mission is the second of NASA's New Frontiers planetary explorations (the first is a spacecraft that will fly by the Pluto-Charon system in 2015), and will cost about $1 billion. Here, three key questions about the Juno program:

Why Jupiter?

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What mysteries does Jupiter hold?

No one is certain, for example, if Jupiter has a solid core beneath its swirling gases. Scientists are still trying to ascertain how Jupiter's hydrogen and other gases move and change over time. And since it was the first planet to form after the sun, Jupiter is made up of the gases that were present at the creation of the solar system, so it may hold the key to how planets formed. "We are after the recipe for planet-making. To get the list of ingredients — this is the place," says astronomer Scott Bolton, as quoted in the Los Angeles Times.

What's unique about the spacecraft Juno?

First, the craft will be launched by the most powerful Atlas rocket ever built, sending Juno on its five-year journey to Jupiter. Three windmill-like solar panels will power Juno's electronics, making it the most distant probe ever to use the sun as an energy source. And once Juno has completed its mission, it will be destroyed by plunging directly into Jupiter, to avoid the chance of contaminating a potentially life-bearing Jovian moon with earthly microbes.

Sources: Associated Press, International Business Times, LA Times, Nature