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Jul 13, 2016

NASA spacecraft sends first pictures since arriving at Jupiter

Posted by in category: space travel

Great stuff — and far greater still to come!

These optimal low radiation paths in, around, and thru Jupiter’s seething radioactive local space will be absolutely priceless when actual human beings get out there, I’d imagine.


PASADENA, Calif. — A NASA spacecraft has sent back the first pictures since arriving at Jupiter.

An image released Tuesday shows Jupiter surrounded by three of its four largest moons. The picture was taken on Saturday when the Juno spacecraft was circling 3 million miles away. Even at that distance, Jupiter’s Great Red Spot — a centuries-old atmospheric storm — was visible.

Despite fears of radiation damage or a possibly crippling high-speed impact with debris in Jupiter’s tenuous ring, NASA’s Juno probe safely braked into orbit around the giant planet last week, firing its main engine for 35 tense minutes to slow down enough to be captured in the planned polar orbit, elated mission managers said last Tuesday, CBS News’ William Harwood reported.

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