This bad boy – named New Horizons – is going to travel at 52,000 mph on it’s way to Pluto on a five month mission.
When will it get there? 2015.
Still, scientists are already discovering neat things about Jupiter, who’s gravity is going to sling New Horizons out towards its final destination and beyond:
New Horizons’ trajectory will take it along about a quarter of Jupiter’s magnetotail–a part of its magnetosphere that stretches out away from the sun. It’s a place where no spacecraft has traveled before, said James L. Green, acting director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA.
While at Jupiter, New Horizons will examine the planet’s “Great Red Spot,” the famous storm that is roughly twice the size of Earth. Scientists will measure cloud levels and make a 3D movie of the circulation in the complex area. Surprises about the area have already been discovered by New Horizons, according to NASA.
“The region northwest of the Great Red Spot looks calmer than NASA scientists had expected, and the atmosphere seems to be clearing,” said Stern.
The spacecraft will also study Jupiter’s “Little Red Spot,” which has seen some change in recent years as well. New Horizons will examine it 30 times closer than previously possible, producing the most detailed pictures that have ever been taken of it.
What a great mission. I’m looking forward to this.