Pluto-bound spacecraft provides close-up look at Jupiter system
Posted: Wed, May 2, 2007, 8:45 AM ET (1245 GMT)
A Pluto-bound spacecraft that flew past Jupiter in late February has provided scientists with their first close-up look at an emerging storm in the giant planet's atmosphere, as well as other features of the planet and its rings and moons, project officials said Tuesday. New Horizons passed about 2.2 million kilometers from Jupiter on February 28, a flyby designed to give the spacecraft a gravity assist and put it on course for Pluto, as well as provide a "stress test" for the spacecraft's instruments and other systems. About 70 percent of the data collected during the lfyby has been transmitted back to Earth, including high-resolution images of the Little Red Spot, the planet's second-largest storm, which formed in the last decade with the merger of three smaller storms. Other data returned by New Horizons includes images of the Galileo moons Europa and Io. The spacecraft, launched in January 2006, will fly past Pluto in July 2015.
A Pluto-bound spacecraft that flew past Jupiter in late February has provided scientists with their first close-up look at an emerging storm in the giant planet's atmosphere, as well as other features of the planet and its rings and moons, project officials said Tuesday. New Horizons passed about 2.2 million kilometers from Jupiter on February 28, a flyby designed to give the spacecraft a gravity assist and put it on course for Pluto, as well as provide a "stress test" for the spacecraft's instruments and other systems. About 70 percent of the data collected during the lfyby has been transmitted back to Earth, including high-resolution images of the Little Red Spot, the planet's second-largest storm, which formed in the last decade with the merger of three smaller storms. Other data returned by New Horizons includes images of the Galileo moons Europa and Io. The spacecraft, launched in January 2006, will fly past Pluto in July 2015.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Wednesday, March 25
Too Little, Too Late? Russia Launches 16 Satellites to Rival Starlink’s Thousands-Strong Constellation
United24 Media — 5:25 am ET (0925 GMT) Launch Services To Gain From Artemis Moon Mission Revamp
Aviation Week — 5:19 am ET (0919 GMT) Texas Supreme Court weighs constitutional beach access in case against SpaceX
Texas Standard — 5:18 am ET (0918 GMT) Texas quietly approves Starbase launch site expansion
San Antonio Express-News — 5:17 am ET (0917 GMT) SpaceX Reschedules Rocket Launch to Wednesday Night
Santa Barbara (CA) Edhat — 5:16 am ET (0916 GMT) |
