[학생기자 칼럼]Chaemin Jang (McLean HS, 11th)

Spacecraft ‘Juno’

Will the thick clouds of Jupiter answer where we are from, why we are here, and how we are here? On August 5th, 2011, a rocket was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force station, leaving on a five-year journey to a planet that would perhaps hint the answer to the prolonged questions of our origin.
In this rocket was a NASA engineered spacecraft “Juno,” named after the Roman goddess and wife of Jupiter. In the Roman epics, Jupiter is described to be mysterious, often times covering himself from all other beings with his cloud “curtains.” Juno’s role in real life is no different from the ancient epics. It will have to go through the radioactive “curtains” of Jupiter, and will reveal the “truth” beneath them.

Having to travel more than 1.7 million miles, Juno needed a special help to facilitate its trip to Jupiter: gravity. Also called the “swing-by” method, Juno uses the Earth’s gravity to accelerate rapidly. The swing-by method works by sending Juno in an elliptical circuit around the Earth, and when in acceptable proximity, sending Juno off with the pull of the Earth.

Once Juno closely approaches Jupiter, it will circle Jupiter in a long elliptical circuit, thoroughly examining the elements at the core of this vast planet. Approaching Jupiter over 3000 miles closer than what other projects were able to do, Juno is expected to reveal unprecedented and certainly significant data regarding the specifics of our solar system. However, despitethe million dollars of investment and five-year long journey, Juno will be able to withstand a maximum of 20 months due to the strong radioactivity of Jupiter.

With thousands of problem filling up the Earth, we have to ask: why is it that we are spending 110 million dollars for a planet that is over 60 million kilometers away? Is it due to the scientists’ obsessive and perhaps even excessive curiosity? According to Scott Bolton, the creator of the Juno Project, “Jupiter can tell us where we are from, and why we are here.”

In NASA, the majority of the astronomers believe that at the core of this humongous planet made up of Helium and Hydrogen will be an essential data that will explain in detail the process of the creation of our solar system. With Jupiter’s immense gravity, it may have captured the elements from the beginning of the creation. And with this discovery, we may be able to take a step further towards the unknown world of the Solar system, the Earth, and our origin.