Juno Spacecraft Gets First Close-Up Look At Jupiter

Juno, the spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter, is due to make an unprecedented close approach to the giant gas planet today.

Mission controllers at NASA said the robotic explorer will have all its nine scientific instruments activated when it flies 2,500 miles above Jupiter's swirling cloud tops at around 130,000mph.

Principal investigator Dr Scott Bolton, of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, US, said: "This is the first time we will be close to Jupiter since we entered orbit on July 4. Back then we turned all our instruments off to focus on the rocket burn to get Juno into orbit around Jupiter.

"Since then, we have checked Juno from stem to stern and back again. We still have more testing to do, but we are confident that everything is working great, so for this upcoming flyby Juno's eyes and ears, our science instruments, will all be open. learn more