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Juno enters Jupiter's orbit

Author
AAP, Newstalk ZB staff,
Publish Date
Tue, 5 Jul 2016, 4:39pm
NASA renderings of the Juno spacecraft near Jupiter. Photo / AP / NZ Herald

Juno enters Jupiter's orbit

Author
AAP, Newstalk ZB staff,
Publish Date
Tue, 5 Jul 2016, 4:39pm

UPDATED 9.19PM There's a mood of relief and jubilation in the NASA team, who've successfully guided a spacecraft into orbit around Jupiter.

NASA used Juno's rocket engine to slow it down, so it would be captured by Jupiter's gravity.

Messages sent back to Earth show it's now in orbit, and has reoriented itself so it can collect power from the sun.

Juno programme scientist Jared Espley told Larry Williams it's an amazing achievement.

"Like most jobs, you go through ups and downs but every once and a while there are those really special moments when you're working for a place like NASA, and that was tonight.

"You know we worked really hard, 10 years for many of us from the beginning of the mission and five years of having the spacecraft journey."

Mr Espley said the probe should reveal a lot of information about how planets form.

Juno is the first spacecraft to venture so far from Earth powered by the sun and will spend 20 months circling Jupiter's poles.

LISTEN ABOVE: Jared Espley, Juno programme scientist at NASA, speaks with Larry Williams 

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