Since arriving at Jupiter on July 4, the Juno spacecraft has had a chance to see some of the giant planet’s fireworks up close and personal. The craft itself has to be guided through a series of rocket firings to bring its orbit in ever closer and closer above the top of the gas clouds.
But that plan has hit a snag — there’s some anomalies going on with the engines, and NASA engineers are skittish about firing the thrusters tomorrow as the craft reaches a close approach. Specifically, the helium valves in the craft aren’t working correctly. Instead of firing on the 19th, they’ll fire them off in December (53 days from tomorrow) once all systems are go.
In the meantime, the Juno team is using the opportunity to take some up-close observations of Jupiter while fulfilling the mission of figuring out what’s at the center of Jupiter and how the massive planet formed.
Source: The Verge
