Juno Science Results Options

[hendric]

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/junoteleconference

Many surprises!

Jupiter not uniform below clouds!

Giant ammonia plume comes up from equator!

Core diffuse, possibly dissolving!

Magnetic field up close has surprised!


Congrats on the amateur images everyone!

[Marcin600]

AGU22 Press Conference: The Latest Science Results from NASA’s Juno Mission to Jupiter, December 14, 2022
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbGgwr-Qq-Y

[Brian Swift]

AGU22 Press Conference: The Latest Science Results from NASA’s Juno Mission to Jupiter, December 14, 2022
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbGgwr-Qq-Y

Thanks. I didn't know the project is no longer planning an active disposal of Juno into Jupiter, and that funding will continue until Juno fails due to accumulated radiation degradation or it runs out of fuel which is needed to point the high gain antenna at Earth to return data. This discussion was at the end of the press conference starting here https://youtu.be/bbGgwr-Qq-Y?t=2382

[Tom Tamlyn]

Thanks. I didn't know the project is no longer planning an active disposal of Juno into Jupiter, and that funding will continue until Juno fails due to accumulated radiation degradation or it runs out of fuel which is needed to point the high gain antenna at Earth to return data. This discussion was at the end of the press conference starting here https://youtu.be/bbGgwr-Qq-Y?t=2382

Thanks Brian, that snippet was interesting. Apparently (and subject to review now in progress), the mission planners are satisfied that, because of the way Juno's orbit has precessed during the extended mission, it is no longer possible for Juno to plunge into Europa.

I had understood that chaotic orbital mechanics means that you can "never say never," but I guess the point is that Juno will impact Jupiter at some point, and while it's probably not possible to say when, it is possible to say that it will happen before chaos has a chance to do something really bizarre that would put Europa at risk of an impact with Juno.

Also interesting to hear that NASA apparently gave Juno an open-ended financial commitment, which I gather is not usually the done thing.

[vjkane]

Thanks Brian, that snippet was interesting. Apparently (and subject to review now in progress), the mission planners are satisfied that, because of the way Juno's orbit has precessed during the extended mission, it is no longer possible for Juno to plunge into Europa.

At a recent meeting (I forget which one), Bolton said that they could tweak the orbits for additional Io observations. Presumably this uses fuel faster.

However, once the Io encounters are over, I wonder if the team will adopt a strategy of fuel conservation to extend observations as long as possible. I'm sure this is utterly unrealistic, but it would be awesome if Juno was still operating when Clipper and JUICE arrive to provide fields and particles observations from a third location within the magnetosphere.

The next OPAG meeting is in a couple of weeks I believe, and there will be an update on the Juno meeting. I expect a focus on the upcoming Io encounters but perhaps there will be a slide on longer term plans.