To protect potential alien life, NASA will destroy its $1 billion Jupiter spacecraft on purpose (2024)

FAQs

How does NASA expect to protect the electronics aboard Juno from the radiation belts on Jupiter? ›

Juno Radiation Vault is a compartment inside the Juno spacecraft that houses much of the probe's electronics and computers, and is intended to offer increased protection of radiation to the contents as the spacecraft endures the radiation environment at planet Jupiter.

About the mission

While its aim was to study Jupiter and its mysterious moons, which it did with much success, NASA's Galileo mission also became notable for discoveries during its journey to the gas giant.

The overall goal of the Juno mission is to improve our understanding of the solar system by understanding the origin and evolution of Jupiter.

After hardware is treated with various forms of microbial reduction, technicians assembling the spacecraft frequently wipe hardware surfaces with an alcohol solution to keep the spacecraft clean.

Aboard the space station, the use of hydrogen-rich shielding such as polyethylene in the most frequently occupied locations, such as the sleeping quarters and the galley, has reduced the crew's exposure to space radiation.

NEWSWEEK - While Jupiter may be our planetary guardian angel, protecting us from harm, gas giants in other solar systems might actually wreak havoc on other exoplanets nearby. In our solar system, Jupiter's huge gravitational field deflects comets and asteroids away from our delicate, rocky home planet.

The planet is mostly swirling gases and liquids. While a spacecraft would have nowhere to land on Jupiter, it wouldn't be able to fly through unscathed either. The extreme pressures and temperatures deep inside the planet crush, melt, and vaporize spacecraft trying to fly into the planet.

Juno's investigation of Jupiter will continue through September 2025, or until the spacecraft's end of life.

As you enter the top of the atmosphere, you're be traveling at 110,000 mph under the pull of Jupiter's gravity. But brace yourself. You'll quickly hit the denser atmosphere below, which will hit you like a wall. It won't be enough to stop you, though.

After the final approach to Io, Juno will reach the end of its extended mission (its primary mission concluded in July 2021) in Sept. 2025. At this time, the spacecraft will be intentionally crashed into the atmosphere of Jupiter, concluding its 9-year study of the gas giant and its moons.

Is Juno still orbiting Jupiter? ›

NASA originally planned to deorbit the spacecraft into the atmosphere of Jupiter after completing 32 orbits of Jupiter, but has since extended the mission to September 2025.

Juno Reveals Interaction Between Jupiter's Atmosphere and Magnetic Field. Juno discovers “Great Blue Spot,” bands that may reflect deep zonal winds and other complex findings.

All astronaut pee is collected and turned back into clean, drinkable water. Astronauts say that “Today's coffee is tomorrow's coffee!” Sometimes, astronaut poop is brought back to Earth for scientists to study, but most of the time, bathroom waste — including poop — is burned.

The space agency has a job opening for a "planetary protection officer," Business Insider reports. The job, which pays between $124,406 to $187,000 a year plus benefits, will involve preventing alien contamination during NASA space missions. They're also supposed to prevent any alien microorganisms from reaching earth.

Kasthuri Venkateswaran of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory strains of the bacterial species Enterobacter bugandensis isolated from the International Space Station (ISS) were studied. Thirteen strains of E. bugandensis, a bacterium notorious for being multi-drug resistant, were isolated from the ISS.

Technicians installed a special radiation vault onto the propulsion module of NASA's Juno spacecraft. The radiation vault has titanium walls to protect the spacecraft's electronic brain and heart from Jupiter's harsh radiation environment.

Clair adapted them to make thin films—very thin materials. As a unique substance known for its heat- and chemical-resistant properties, present-day polyimides are in everything from laptops to kitchen toasters. For NASA, polyimides are useful in space because they can withstand extreme temperatures and radiation.

External shielding like lead around the electronic components that reduces radiation exposure thereby increasing the life span of the mission. This is particularly useful in long-term missions.

NASA originally planned to deorbit the spacecraft into the atmosphere of Jupiter after completing 32 orbits of Jupiter, but has since extended the mission to September 2025. The controlled deorbit is intended to eliminate space debris and risks of contamination in accordance with NASA's planetary protection guidelines.