Putting this link here so I don’t lose it.

May 17 lecture on what we have learnt so far from Juno at Jupiter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6Joupv6f-M

• Rainfall on Jupiter. Helium rain & water rain.
• A few percent of oxygen, which is the third most common element.
• Possibly a “pressure ionisation” layer of hydrogen above the liquid metallic layer.
• “If I make a cyclone, it heads towards the pole”, helps to explain why the poles are full of cyclones.
• The thrusters now in use are just gas. We had hydrazine and oxidiser in the main engine, but we’re not using the main engine any more.
• Science away from perijove includes magnetometer readings and the microwave radiometer.
• When Juno finishes (36 science orbits if not extended) then it will be directed to burn up in Jupiter’s atmosphere.
• The technical lifetime may be limited by radiation damage but there’s no radiation damage yet.
• From the Galileo probe we learnt that the proportion of elements heavier than helium in Jupiter’s atmosphere are present at about three times the expected concentrations, but in the expected proportion relative to one another, except for water because there was hardly any water.

https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2018/06/nasa-to-extend-juno-jupiter-mission-by-three-years/amp

The Juno spacecraft currently orbiting Jupiter was supposed end its mission by crashing into the gas giant next month. Not any more!

NASA has approved Juno to continue through 2022 to finish all of our originally planned science.

Juno is still in its initial 53-day orbit around Jupiter. An engine burn was supposed to shorten the orbit to 14 days. But it didn’t work.

The longer-than-planned orbits meant the probe would pass close to the planet fewer times. Extending the mission will allow the scientists enough time to gather all their data.

Fantastic outcome.