Scientists find a storm on Jupiter that towers above the planet’s pole

NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/GSFC

For the Juno spacecraft scientists on Wednesday it was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of discovery, it was the age of disquiet, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair. We could go on as Dickens might, but the point is that on Wednesday scientists who sent the probe to Jupiter had both exciting scientific news, as well as some health concerns with the spacecraft.

First, the bad news. Late last week mission managers canceled a planned engine firing to drop Juno into a shorter orbital period around Jupiter, from 53 days to 14 days. As they were checking out the spacecraft's propulsion system, the mission scientists noted that two helium check valves that play an important role in the firing of the spacecraft's main engine did not operate properly. They decided to delay the burn until at least December, but they still intended to take advantage of this week's close approach to Jupiter by taking additional data.

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