The Juno space probe is a craft operated by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory that orbits the planet Jupiter. It is allowing researchers never-before-seen insight into our Solar System’s largest planet. Specifically, Juno is on the verge of allowing scientists, for the first time ever, to “see” Jupiter’s magnetic field. But will this victory cost Juno its “life”? Experts have begun to weigh in on the dangers that exploring extraterrestrial cosmic bodies pose to our technology.
Jupiter’s magnetosphere is truly a behemoth within our Solar System. At nearly 5 million kilometers (3 million miles) wide, it is nearly 15 times larger than the Sun and remains one of the largest structures within the entire system. But up until recently, we hadn’t been able to directly “see” this massive structure until Juno entered Jupiter’s magnetic field in the summer of 2016.
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