The central idea of the passage is that Juno is a NASA spacecraft designed to orbit and study Jupiter, providing valuable data about the planet's atmosphere, magnetic field, and formation.
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Juno
adapted from NASA
Juno is a NASA spacecraft that is orbiting Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system. Juno launched in 2011 and arrived at Jupiter in 2016.
Juno is an orbiter. Orbiters fly around, or orbit, other bodies in space to study them. Orbiters circle above the atmosphere of planets. Juno will be in polar orbit for about 20 months. Juno's first orbit will last 53.5 days. This long orbit allows the spacecraft to slow down and be captured in the planet's gravity. Then Juno begins its 14-day science orbits. During the science orbits, all of the spacecraft's science instruments are on, and Juno is capturing data. Juno will orbit Jupiter 37 times, coming within 4,200 kilometers (2,600 miles) of the tops of the planet's clouds. At the end of its 37th revolution around the planet, the orbiter will deorbit. The spacecraft will dive into Jupiter's atmosphere and burn up.
Science instruments on board Juno study Jupiter's atmosphere, magnetic field, and gravitational field. Juno is measuring the amount of water and ammonia in Jupiter's atmosphere to help scientists learn how giant planets formed. Juno is studying Jupiter's atmosphere under the clouds to find what Jupiter is made of. By mapping Jupiter's gravitational and magnetic fields, Juno can determine the mass of Jupiter's core.
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