JunoCam, the imaging device of the Juno spacecraft, encountered problems while orbiting Jupiter. NASA noticed a problem when JunoCam returned images with graininess and horizontal lines during Juno’s 47th orbit. While NASA suspected the culprit was radiation, fixing it from such great distance was a big ask.
The Juno team, with very few options on the table, attempted to repair it by raising the camera’s temperature — a process commonly known as annealing. Expectations from the procedure were not certain before execution. JunoCam’s imaging engineer, Jacob Schaffner, admitted that the team waited with “bated breath” to see the results.
Impressively, the images improved significantly as Juno continued around Jupiter’s orbit. However, deeper travels into Jupiter’s harsh radiation fields caused JunoCam to develop issues again. But further annealing cleared up the images, they became almost as sharp as they were on the very first day of the camera’s launch. When Juno came within 930 miles (1,496.69 kilometers) of Jupiter’s volcanic moon, Io, on December 30, 2023, it captured flawless images. JunoCam captured detailed images revealing never-before-mapped volcanoes with vast lava flow fields.
The successful rescue experiment is paving the way for wider use of the technique across other Juno instruments and subsystems. “Juno is teaching us how to create and maintain spacecraft tolerant to radiation,” said Scott Bolton, Juno’s principal investigator from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. He also added that the insights from Juno will benefit satellites in the Earth’s orbit.
For those looking to observe Jupiter and other planets themselves, the Celestron StarSense Explorer LT 114AZ (curr. $239 on Amazon) is a solid choice. Its 114 mm aperture gathers enough light to reveal Jupiter’s cloud bands, its four largest moons, and even hints of the Great Red Spot under good viewing conditions.
Chibuike Okpara – Tech Writer – 60 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2024
I have always been fascinated by technology and digital devices my entire life and even got addicted to it. I have always marveled at the intricacy of even the simplest digital devices and systems around us. I have been writing and publishing articles online for about 6 years now, just about a year ago, I found myself lost in the marvel of smartphones and laptops we have in our hands every day. I developed a passion for learning about new devices and technologies that come with them and at some point, I asked myself, “Why not get into writing tech articles?” It is useless to say I followed up the idea — it is evident. I am an open-minded individual who derives an infinite amount of joy from researching and discovering new information, I believe there is so much to learn and such a short life to live, so I put my time to good use — learning new things. I am a ‘bookworm’ of the internet and digital devices. When I am not writing, you will find me on my devices still, I do explore and admire the beauty of nature and creatures. I am a fast learner and quickly adapt to changes, always looking forward to new adventures.