NASA's Juno spacecraft to make fifth Science flyby of Jupiter today!

This view of Jupiter, taken by the JunoCam imager of NASA’s Juno spacecraft, highlights Oval BA -- a massive storm known as the Little Red Spot. (Image courtesy: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Bjorn Jonsson)

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.

Juno has, ever since, been beaming back some amazing data on the planet as well as giving space enthusiasts spectacular visual treats from time to time.

With many turning points dotting its 10-month journey in Jupiter's orbit, Juno is all set for another important manoeuvre.

Juno will make its fifth science flyby over Jupiter's mysterious cloud tops on Friday, May 19, 2:00 am EDT (Thursday, May 18, at 11:00 pm PDT and 6:00 UTC).

According to NASA, at the time of perijove (defined as the point in Juno’s orbit when it is closest to the planet's center), the spacecraft will have logged 63.5 million miles (102 million kilometers) in Jupiter’s orbit and will be about 2,200 miles (3,500 kilometers) above the planet's cloud tops.

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.