MEDIA GALLERY : Interviews 2019
jump to gallery selectionJUNO ENGINEERING:
Precision Matters
Precision Matters
The
Juno spacecraft posed extreme design challenges for the engineers. Juno
would be the first solar-powered spacecraft to operate so far from the
Sun. It traveled through magnetic fields 20 times stronger than any
previous spacecraft. It operates deep within Jupiter’s hazardous
radiation belts. The Juno team had to be very strategic about protecting
Juno’s “vital organs” and sensitive science instruments from the
elements, ensuring that the spacecraft would survive launch and the
harsh environment once inserted into orbit about Jupiter. And no matter
how much planning and testing is done, contingency plans are always
necessary to cope with uncertainties.
"Juno went from proposal to launch in about five or six years and that seems like a really long time but most of the little steps in between always feel really rushed. There’s never enough time to do something that’s never been done before."
— Heidi Becker, Investigation Scientist & Radiation Monitoring Investigation Lead, JPL
Team Members: Heidi Becker, Scott Bolton, Jack Connerney, Jennifer Delavan, Matt Johnson, Rick Nybakken, Maria Schellpfeffer, Paul Steffes
"Juno went from proposal to launch in about five or six years and that seems like a really long time but most of the little steps in between always feel really rushed. There’s never enough time to do something that’s never been done before."
— Heidi Becker, Investigation Scientist & Radiation Monitoring Investigation Lead, JPL
Team Members: Heidi Becker, Scott Bolton, Jack Connerney, Jennifer Delavan, Matt Johnson, Rick Nybakken, Maria Schellpfeffer, Paul Steffes
NASA/JPL/SwRI
CITIZEN SCIENTISTS:
Data for the World
Data for the World
JunoCam
is the "citizen science" camera on board Juno. As the spacecraft orbits
Jupiter, JunoCam snaps pictures of the planet from different angles and
radial distances, targeting features identified in part through the
collaborative efforts of the amateur astronomer community. JunoCam’s
imagery is sent back to Earth and posted to the Mission Juno website,
where the general public may download them for subsequent image
processing. The images processed by these citizen scientists are
returned to the Mission Juno website and range from detailed scientific
imagery and analyses to beautiful works of space-themed art.
"The idea that you can couple our scientific imaging and understanding of the planet, with artistic representations of not only what the planet means but what exploration means, has been very valuable to the mission– and to the public."
— Paul Steffes, Investigator, Georgia Tech
Team Members: Scott Bolton, Candice Hansen, Rick Nybakken, Glenn S. Orton, Paul Steffes
"The idea that you can couple our scientific imaging and understanding of the planet, with artistic representations of not only what the planet means but what exploration means, has been very valuable to the mission– and to the public."
— Paul Steffes, Investigator, Georgia Tech
Team Members: Scott Bolton, Candice Hansen, Rick Nybakken, Glenn S. Orton, Paul Steffes
NASA/JPL/SwRI
COMMANDING THE SPACECRAFT:
Juno, welcome to Jupiter
Juno, welcome to Jupiter
Commanding
Juno after years of testing was at first a nerve-racking experience for
the scientists, engineers and countless other collaborators from across
the world. The team worked as a family to make sure that launch was a
success, that all nine on-board instruments operate as designed, that
navigation, once in flight, goes smoothly, and that the mission-critical
Juno Orbit Insertion went exactly as planned.
"We look at view graphs and charts and analyses all the time – what blows my mind is when I go out at night, and I look up at Jupiter, and I realize, we’re there." — Rick Nybakken, Project Manager 2012-2017, JPL
Team Members: Heidi Becker, Scott Bolton, Jack Connerney, Jennifer Delavan, Maria Schellpfeffer, Paul Steffes, Marla Thornton
"We look at view graphs and charts and analyses all the time – what blows my mind is when I go out at night, and I look up at Jupiter, and I realize, we’re there." — Rick Nybakken, Project Manager 2012-2017, JPL
Team Members: Heidi Becker, Scott Bolton, Jack Connerney, Jennifer Delavan, Maria Schellpfeffer, Paul Steffes, Marla Thornton
NASA/JPL/SwRI
THE STORY OF DATA:
Unexpected Data Discoveries from Juno
Unexpected Data Discoveries from Juno
Every
piece of data captured by Juno’s instruments is transmitted back to
Earth and analyzed by the Spacecraft Operations team and the Science
instrument teams. Those datasets are then passed to the entire Juno
Science team, for use in understanding what is going on in and around
Jupiter. Juno’s observations often reveal unexpected discoveries,
forever changing us and our understanding of giant planets.
“The key is recognizing something you don’t understand in your data, and drilling down on that to discover things that you never anticipated when you set out to do this job.” — Jack Connerney, Deputy Principal Investigator & Magnetometer Investigation Lead, GSFC
Team Members: Heidi Becker, Scott Bolton, Jack Connerney, Matt Johnson, Paul Steffes, Marla Thornton
“The key is recognizing something you don’t understand in your data, and drilling down on that to discover things that you never anticipated when you set out to do this job.” — Jack Connerney, Deputy Principal Investigator & Magnetometer Investigation Lead, GSFC
Team Members: Heidi Becker, Scott Bolton, Jack Connerney, Matt Johnson, Paul Steffes, Marla Thornton
NASA/JPL/SwRI