3-2-1: A look at NASA’s Jupiter mission by the numbers
LOS ANGELES — Since launching in 2011, NASA’s Juno spacecraft has been cruising toward the biggest planet in the solar system. On Monday, Juno performed a nail-biting move that placed it into orbit around Jupiter to explore its cloud-covered atmosphere and interior makeup.
Here are a few key numbers about the $1.1 billion mission:
— 1.8 billion miles (2.8 billion kilometres)
That’s the total distance travelled from launch to arrival. Juno’s journey wasn’t a straight shot. Because the rocket that carried Juno wasn’t powerful enough to boost it directly to Jupiter, it took a longer route. It looped around the inner solar system and then swung by Earth, using our planet as a gravity slingshot to hurtle toward the outer solar system.