Fact Box: NASA’s Juno Spacecraft

NASA’s unmanned spacecraft Juno on 10 July 2017 became the first space probe to complete flyby of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot.

• The spacecraft successfully peered into the Jupiter’s giant storm known as the Great Red Spot.

• The Great Red Spot on Jupiter is a massive storm or cyclone that measures about 16000 km in diameter.

• Largest known storm in the solar system, the Great Red Spot has possibly existed for more than 350 years.

• The spot has been under the observations since 1830.

• The spot appears as a deep red sphere surrounded by layers of pale yellow, orange and white.

• The storm is believed to be shrinking in the recent years.

• Juno spacecraft was launched in August 2011 from Cape Canaveral, Florida as part of NASA's New Frontiers program.

• The spacecraft was named from Greco-Roman mythology.

• It has been orbiting solar system’s largest planet Jupiter since July 2016.

• It is orbiting Jupiter pole to pole from 5000 kilometers above planet’s cloud tops.

• Juno's mission is to understand the origin and evolution of Jupiter and investigate the existence of its core.

• It also aims to map Jupiter’s intense magnetic field and measure the amount of water and ammonia in the deep atmosphere of Jupiter.

• Early science results from NASA's Juno mission portray Jupiter as a turbulent world with complex interior structure, energetic polar aurora and huge polar cyclones.

• The mission life of Juno is till February 2018.