Juno Engineering: Precision Matters

The Juno spacecraft posed extreme design challenges for the engineers. Juno would be the first solar-powered spacecraft to operate so far from the Sun. It traveled through magnetic fields 20 times stronger than any previous spacecraft. It operates deep within Jupiter’s hazardous radiation belts. The Juno team had to be very strategic about protecting Juno’s “vital organs” and sensitive science instruments from the elements, ensuring that the spacecraft would survive launch and the harsh environment once inserted into orbit about Jupiter. And no matter how much planning and testing is done, contingency plans are always necessary to cope with uncertainties. “Juno went from proposal to launch in about five or six years and that seems like a really long time but most of the little steps in between always feel really rushed. There’s never enough time to do something that’s never been done before.“ — Heidi Becker, Investigation Scientist & Radiation Monitoring Investigation Lead, JPL Team Members: Heidi Becker, Scott Bolton, Jack Connerney, Jennifer Delavan, Matt Johnson, Rick Nybakken, Maria Schellpfeffer, Paul Steffes Credit: NASA/JPL/SwRI (For more information about Juno, visit and )