The mission of "Juno": Part I. Goals and Objectives

The main purpose of confronting the latest NASA mission to Jupiter, "Juno", is to deepen our understanding of the origin of the solar system by studying the origin and evolution of Jupiter.

To achieve this, the mission is expected to do the following:

• Determine how much water is in the atmosphere of Jupiter - it will help to decide in favor of one of several different theories about the origin of the planet (or identify the need for a new theory);

• "See" deep into Jupiter's atmosphere and measure the temperature in these layers, the parameters of the movement of clouds and other atmospheric properties;

• To map the gravitational and magnetic fields of Jupiter, giving clues to the internal structure of the planet;

• Explore and investigate Jupiter's magnetosphere near the planet's poles, with special attention to the auroras - a phenomenon that reflects the interaction between the powerful magnetic field of the planet and its atmosphere.

Most theories about the origin of the solar system begins with the collapse of giant clouds of gas and dust or nebulae, most of which eventually became part of the "newborn" sun. Just as the sun, Jupiter is composed mainly of hydrogen and helium, so it had to be formed early in the condensation process capturing most of the material remaining after forming the sun. However, the mechanism of these processes remains unclear. Formed initially whether a massive planetary core, which is the action of its gravity captures all this gas, or inside the nebula collapse occurred unstable region that started the formation of the planets? The difference between these two versions of the principal.

No less important will be the study of the composition and role of the planetesimals, or small protoplanets, in the formation of giant planets.

Unlike Earth's giant mass of Jupiter has allowed it to maintain its original structure, which allows us to "see" through the study of the history of this planet in the solar system. The device "Juno" will produce the amount of water and ammonia in Jupiter's atmosphere, and determine whether the planet's solid core, which will definitely solve the problem of the origin of Jupiter, and together with him and some of the questions about the origin of the solar system. Mapping the gravity and magnetic fields of Jupiter will reveal the internal structure of the planet and measure the mass of its nucleus.

high pressure deep in Jupiter atmosphere hydrogen gas is compressed in the fluid known as metallic hydrogen. At greater depths these hydrogen behaves as an electrically conductive metal which is believed to be a source of powerful magnetic fields of the planet. This powerful magnetic field creates the brightest auroras in the Solar System when moving it charged particles are deposited in the planet's atmosphere. "Juno" for the first time in the history of science directly measure the amount of charged particles and the intensity of the magnetic fields near Jupiter's poles, at the same time making observations in the UV auroras caused by ingression of huge amounts of energy in the polar region of the giant planet.

Compiled on the materials posted on the official NASA website.