Juno Jupiter trip “more complicated than what NASA has done” – LaRepública.pe

“They’re the best team! We just achieved the most complicated ever done NASA!” He said excitedly Scott Bolton, shortly after the spacecraft Juno managed to make orbit Jupiter.

yOU CAN SEE: spacecraft Juno arrived at Jupiter and Google celebrates with interactive doodle

and Bolton, the principal investigator for the mission, not exaggerating

Juno is a project where everything could go wrong. But everything went smoothly.

The complex adventure also began 13 years ago when a group of scientists from the US aerospace company Lockheed Martin began thinking about how to build a device that could reach . the oldest, largest and monstrous in our solar system planet

“ it is far, so very dark; is cold because it’s dark, and it is a vacuum cleaner, but no gravity, “he then explained to the Atlantic magazine Kevin Rudolph, engineer of the center.

And the challenges were not exhausted there. Scientists made a list of problems that could be found-an extreme radiation, little sunlight, low gravity and a massively magnetosphere and were attacking them one by one.

The radiation was one of their biggest concerns because the probe should be strong enough to withstand what would be the equivalent of 100 million dental X-rays.

This is capable of frying, without much difficulty, any electronic system. And to protect all teams that travel to Jupiter had two options: to design an electronic able to withstand such radiation or protect the systems that were already available. Design something new, would be like inventing a new technology, so were inclined to find a way to seal the equipment available.

To make such a lightweight device as it could be about 1,587 kilos It weighs decided make a shield to protect everything. “Basically, we build a safe,” said Rudolph.

So all the teams are in a bucket of 1mx1m, and covered with a layer of 1.2 cm titanium.

But not everything could be completely sealed.

the camera probe, named Juno Cam, had to bear the intense radiation. And for this, experts designed conical shields, as megaphones that extend beyond the lenses.

Just you receive radiation, but scientists estimate that operated for the first 7 flights of 32 Juno is expected to do.

the other big enemy is the massive magnetosphere of Jupiter, which is nothing but the result of the collision between the planet’s magnetic field and solar supersonic winds. And Juno is basically a metal tank, so the electricity can be generated in the magnetic field was also another cause of insomnia for designers of the probe.

“ If you’re not careful , that electricity can be converted into high voltage , which can produce small sparks, “said Rudolph.

to avoid this, each metal component is involved in several which in turn were covered insulating layers with a thin layer of metal so that the electricity created with the magnetic field to flow the same everywhere.

Another challenge was the engine that should take, because the hardest part of the mission were the 35 minutes that Juno was “slow” to be placed in orbit.

the maneuver required turn Juno for the engine ignited in the opposite direction that was traveling so we can eliminate about 500 m / s (1,800 km / h) of its speed.

Now Juno is in a large elliptical that will take 53 days to complete and mid-October there will be a second “brake” to reduce the orbit to 14 days.

That’s when you really begin to discover the secrets of the giant. And once their mission, Juno will be directed towards the center of the planet where it will be destroyed by the relentless atmosphere of this gas giant.

Keys

• Dimensions. The ship, unmanned and the size of a basketball court, and made history in January by becoming the probe driven by solar energy to reach further into space, to about 793 million kilometers from the sun.
• In orbit. Over the next 20 months, the probe will give 37 laps to the orbit of Jupiter to improve understanding of the first moments of the solar system by revealing the origin and evolution of its biggest planet.