NASA's Juno is Halfway to Jupiter

[Waspie_Dwarf]

NASA's Juno is Halfway to Jupiter

PASADENA, Calif. - NASA's Juno spacecraft is halfway to Jupiter. The Jovian-system-bound spacecraft reached the milestone today (8/12/13) at 5:25 a.m. PDT (8:25 a.m. EDT/12:25 UTC).

"Juno's odometer just clicked over to 9.464 astronomical units," said Juno Principal Investigator Scott Bolton, of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. "The team is looking forward, preparing for the day we enter orbit around the most massive planet in our solar system."

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Edited August 12, 2013 by Waspie_Dwarf

[Aggie]

3 more years to start getting pictures and data about Jupiter...regarding space science, we live in very exciting times.

[NatureBoff]

Another spacecraft Earth Flyby Anomaly in two months time would be exciting too.

[Aggie]

Another spacecraft Earth Flyby Anomaly in two months time would be exciting too.

What's that, Natureboff?

[bassai26]

3 more years and mankind makes another step to know more about our solar system...

[NatureBoff]

What's that, Natureboff?

The flyby anomaly is an unexpected energy increase during Earth-flybys of spacecraft. It causes a significant unaccounted velocity increase of over 13 mm/s during flybys. Thanks for asking.

Edited August 13, 2013 by NatureBoff

[seeder]

3 more years to start getting pictures and data about Jupiter...regarding space science, we live in very exciting times.

we do indeed. Fingers crossed nothing goes wrong at all, and we have as much data as its designed to collect.

[Aggie]

The flyby anomaly is an unexpected energy increase during Earth-flybys of spacecraft. It causes a significant unaccounted velocity increase of over 13 mm/s during flybys. Thanks for asking.

Thank you! Very interesting....and you are saying we'll get some data on that in 2 months?

we do indeed. Fingers crossed nothing goes wrong at all, and we have as much data as its designed to collect.

I hope so too, I really want to know if they find a rock core....or is it just gas? Is there water? Oxygen? Hydrogen?...LOL so many questions!!

[NatureBoff]

Thank you! Very interesting....and you are saying we'll get some data on that in 2 months?

A pleasure. Hopefully so, it doesn't happen every time that a spacecraft passes nearby. The scientists will be looking closely for an effect though. If it happens, it will be BIG news and bring the unexplained anomaly into the limelight again. This has to be explained to give a full understanding of gravity and other planetary forces.

[moonshadow60]

So fascinating. I will be looking forward to hearing about this and the pictures, if there are any to see, when it finally reaches its destination.

[Waspie_Dwarf]

NatureBoff, let's not take this too far off topic please. If you wish to discuss the fly-by anomaly them by all means provide a link to one of your existing threads on the subject.

Edited August 13, 2013 by Waspie_Dwarf

[pallidin]

I realize that space exploration is expensive, and that in our budget times may seem inappropriate to some(not those here on this thread)

Having always been a big conscientious supporter of NASA/JPL and related domestic/foreign agencies and universites that make these types of things possible, I wish the best of luck and technology on this mission.

Edited August 13, 2013 by pallidin

[Four Winds]

I thought it just got halfway to Jupiter and in the article is says..

On Oct. 9, Juno will come within 347 miles (559 kilometers) of Earth," said the mission's Project Manager Rick Nybakken of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "The Earth flyby will give Juno a kick in the pants, boosting its velocity by 16,330 mph (about 7.3 kilometers per second). From there, it's next stop Jupiter.

Seems a long way to go just to come back and get a kick in the pants, to go back where it was heading, halfway there in the first place. How does it get halfway there and then come back towards Earth, only to go back again? That just seems strange to me, not in a conspiracy sort of way, just that I don't get it. Wouldn't you have to swing it around a planet to head back this way? There are no planets halfway from Earth to Jupiter. Mars is not halfway. How is it turning around and coming back this way before going off again to Jupiter? I'm sure there is a simple answer, and I will smack my head when I hear it and say "duh, why didn't I think of that", but what is it?

Edited August 14, 2013 by Razer

[NatureBoff]

I thought it just got halfway to Jupiter and in the article is says..

On Oct. 9, Juno will come within 347 miles (559 kilometers) of Earth," said the mission's Project Manager Rick Nybakken of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "The Earth flyby will give Juno a kick in the pants, boosting its velocity by 16,330 mph (about 7.3 kilometers per second). From there, it's next stop Jupiter.

Seems a long way to go just to come back and get a kick in the pants, to go back where it was heading, halfway there in the first place. How does it get halfway there and then come back towards Earth, only to go back again? That just seems strange to me, not in a conspiracy sort of way, just that I don't get it. Wouldn't you have to swing it around a planet to head back this way? There are no planets halfway from Earth to Jupiter. Mars is not halfway. How is it turning around and coming back this way before going off again to Jupiter? I'm sure there is a simple answer, and I will smack my head when I hear it and say "duh, why didn't I think of that", but what is it?

Good question. I'll let Waspie_Dwarf explain that one, if he's interested enough.

[NatureBoff]

I thought it just got halfway to Jupiter and in the article is says..

On Oct. 9, Juno will come within 347 miles (559 kilometers) of Earth," said the mission's Project Manager Rick Nybakken of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "The Earth flyby will give Juno a kick in the pants, boosting its velocity by 16,330 mph (about 7.3 kilometers per second). From there, it's next stop Jupiter.

Seems a long way to go just to come back and get a kick in the pants, to go back where it was heading, halfway there in the first place. How does it get halfway there and then come back towards Earth, only to go back again? That just seems strange to me, not in a conspiracy sort of way, just that I don't get it. Wouldn't you have to swing it around a planet to head back this way? There are no planets halfway from Earth to Jupiter. Mars is not halfway. How is it turning around and coming back this way before going off again to Jupiter? I'm sure there is a simple answer, and I will smack my head when I hear it and say "duh, why didn't I think of that", but what is it?

I find in a bit confusing too. When they say "half way", they don't mean half the distance as the crow flies, but half way in the amount of distance traveled for the journey overall. The journey time is just under half way incidentally. Launched in Aug 2011, Earth-flyby Oct 2013, reach Jupiter July 2016. Here's something to help hopefully

Gravity Assist by using the Earth-flyby to accelerate the spacecraft is also quite confusing. The Wikipedia Talkpage is full of people asking questions about the science and terminology. I added my own section to give the most simple understanding possible. I've reproduced it here for you:

Archimedes Screw Graviton Model Provides Simple Understanding Of Slingshot Effect

If one imagines that gravity is due to clockwise spinning right-handed Archimedes screw particles, which emanate out from the Earth in a straight line, then this explains the force relative to our planet when they interact with another body. When Juno approaches Earth towards the Sun, the gravitons also have a velocity of the Earth relative to the Sun. This 'extra' motion is then transferred to Juno as it passes close by, which accelerates the spacecraft relative to the Sun.

Edited August 14, 2013 by NatureBoff

[Spacenut56]

I will be excited about any further info on Europa myself.