NASA's Juno mission successfully accomplishes fifth science orbit of Jupiter!

Image courtesy: NASA (Image for representational purposes only)

New Delhi: After its launch in August 2011, NASA's space probe Juno entered Jupiter's polar orbit in July 2016, thus commencing its 20-month investigation of the planet.

With many turning points dotting its 10-month journey in Jupiter's orbit, Juno made yet another important manoeuvre on Friday.

The Jupiter probe spacecraft accomplished a close flyby of the solar system's biggest planet, thereby successfully completing its fifth science orbit.

As per NASA, all of Juno's science instruments and the spacecraft's JunoCam were operating during the flyby, collecting data that is now being returned to Earth.

Juno's next close flyby of Jupiter will occur on July 11, 2017, taking it over Jupiter’s Great Red Spot.

Juno launched on Aug. 5, 2011, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and arrived in orbit around Jupiter on July 4, 2016. During its mission of exploration, Juno soars low over the planet's cloud tops -- as close as about 2,100 miles (3,400 kilometers) During these flybys, Juno is probing beneath the obscuring cloud cover of Jupiter and studying its auroras to learn more about the planet's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere.