Juno successfully enters Jupiter's orbit
A fter a five year journey from Earth, Juno the solar-powered spacecraft squeezed through a narrow band, skimming Jupiter’s surface, avoiding the worst of both its radiation belt and its dangerous dust rings. The Juno satellite, which left Earth five years ago, had to fire a rocket engine to slow its approach to the planet and get caught by its gravity. A sequence of tones transmitted from the spacecraft confirmed the braking manoeuvre had gone as planned. Receipt of the radio messages prompted wild cheering at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "All stations on Juno co-ord, we have the tone for burn cut-off on Delta B", Juno Mission Control had announced. "Roger Juno, welcome to Jupiter". The spacecraft's name comes from Greco-Roman mythology. The god Jupiter drew a veil of clouds around himself to hide his mischief, but his wife, the goddess Juno, was able to peer through the clouds and see Jupiter's true nature. Scientists p...