Juno Gave NASA Controllers Fairly the Scare Throughout Current Jupiter Flyby

For almost a decade, a big probe has braved the cruel Jovian atmosphere to carry us mesmerizing, close-up views of Jupiter and its moons. However typically, the gasoline large will get the very best of it. The Juno mission not too long ago went into an surprising secure mode throughout a scheduled flyby of Jupiter, quickly powering down its science devices.

Juno was making its 71st shut strategy to Jupiter when it entered its precautionary standing twice on April 4 because it was flying by the gasoline large, NASA not too long ago revealed. It’s not clear precisely what might have precipitated Juno to enter secure mode, however the house company believes it might have occurred because the spacecraft flew by way of Jupiter’s radiation belts.

Mission operations reestablished information transmission with Juno and the information indicated that the spacecraft first went into secure mode at 5:17 a.m. ET, which was about an hour forward of its scheduled flyby. Juno entered secure mode once more round 45 minutes after perijove, or its shut strategy to Jupiter. Throughout secure mode, nonessential features on the spacecraft are suspended. Juno powered down its science devices whereas protecting its communication and energy administration techniques on. The spacecraft rebooted its laptop, and pointed its antennas towards Earth for communication.

Secure mode is activated when the spacecraft detects an anomaly. Though the staff continues to be ready to research the information to determine precisely what went improper, early indications means that Juno was flying by way of Jupiter’s radiation belts when its secure mode was activated.

Jupiter’s magnetic subject is 20,000 occasions stronger than Earth’s and the strongest of all of the planets within the photo voltaic system. The planet’s magnetosphere traps charged particles after which speeds them up like a particle accelerator, in accordance with the European Space Agency. The very best fluxes of energetic particles are discovered within the doughnut-shaped belts round Jupiter’s equator, its radiation belts.

Juno boasts a titanium radiation vault to dam high-energy particles from impacting the spacecraft, however that’s typically not sufficient. The spacecraft went into secure mode 4 occasions since arriving at Jupiter in 2016.

After reestablishing communication with Juno, the staff is working to transmit the information collected earlier than and after it entered secure mode because the spacecraft conducts flight software program diagnostics, in accordance with NASA.

Juno is scheduled for an upcoming flyby of Jupiter on Might 7, throughout which it’s set to hold out an in depth strategy of the Jovian moon Io at a distance of about 55,300 miles (89,000 kilometers). Hopefully the spacecraft manages to maintain its science devices turned on this time.