2. Juno was launched on August 5th in 2011. This means I was 8 and in Year 4 in my Junior School. A LOT happened in 2011, from the royal wedding of William & Kate to the tragic earthquake-turned-tsunami of Japan. The deaths of Kim Jong-Il and Steve Jobs were also announced. This was also the year of the devastating riots England faced.

3. Juno is a NASA spacecraft. Juno is going to Jupiter to help scientists learn more about the planet. Juno will help scientists learn how Jupiter and other planets were made. Juno took a whole 5 YEARS to get to Jupiter- that’s how long we’ll spend at Testwood!

4. Juno will not land. It will orbit Jupiter 32 times. Juno will orbit around Jupiter's poles for about one year. Juno will get closer to Jupiter than any other spacecraft. Juno will take science instruments to study Jupiter's atmosphere. The atmosphere is the layer of gases around a planet. Juno will take the first pictures of Jupiter's poles. The spacecraft will study the lights around Jupiter's north and south poles, too. Juno will get its power from the sun. The spacecraft has three large solar panels around its six-sided body. Juno will help scientists better understand how Jupiter was made. The spacecraft will help them learn how Jupiter has changed, too. Scientists now are finding planets that do not orbit our sun. These planets orbit other stars. Juno will help us learn more about Jupiter and our own solar system. The spacecraft also will help us learn more about other solar systems. What we learn could help us find new planets.

5. Jupiter will not land as a major problem in sending space probes to Jupiter is that the planet has no solid surface on which to land, as there is a smooth transition between the planet's atmosphere and its fluid interior. Any probes descending into the atmosphere are eventually crushed by the immense pressures within Jupiter. Therefore Juno will only orbit Jupiter.

6. Jupiter is a giant gas planet. Its atmosphere is made up of mostly hydrogen gas and helium gas, just like the sun. The planet's surface is covered in thick red, brown, yellow and white clouds.

7. Mass: Volume: Surface area: Mean circumference: Density: Sidereal rotation period: Surface gravity: Average surface temperature: Moons: Mass: Jupiter has a mass of 1.8981 x 10 27 kg. That is over 317 times the mass of Earth. Volume: Jupiter’s volume is1.43128 x 10 15 km 3. That is 1,321 times Earth’s volume. Surface area: The surface area of Jupiter is 6.1419 x 10 10 km 2. Earth is over 120 times smaller. Mean circumference: Jupiter has a mean circumference of of 4.39264 x 10 5 km, which is nearly 11 times larger than Earth’s. Density: Jupiter has a low density of 1.326 g/cm 3, less than 25% of Earth’s. Sidereal rotation period: Jupiter rotates every 9.92496 hours compared to Earth’s 24. Surface gravity: The surface gravity of Jupiter is 2.53 times that on Earth. While scientists have calculated Jupiter’s gravity, the planet does not have a solid surface. Average surface temperature: The average surface temperature of Jupiter is -108.15 C. Earth’s average temperature is 15 C. Moons: Everyone knows that Earth has one moon. Jupiter has 63 confirmed moons a few more suspected satellites.

8. Juno’s name comes from Roman mythology. According to the myth, the god Jupiter would hide behind clouds. But his wife, the goddess Juno, could see through them. As in the story, the planet Jupiter is covered with clouds. The spacecraft Juno will help NASA learn about what the planet Jupiter is like behind the clouds.