Juno successfully buzzes Jupiter's cloud tops in its fifth flyby

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Roman Tkachenko

New Delhi: NASA's Juno spacecraft whizzed by Jupiter on Monday, March 27, 2017, in its fifth close encounter with the gas giant, successfully completing its fourth science orbit.

According to NASA, all of Juno's science instruments and the spacecraft's JunoCam were on during the flyby, collecting data that is now being returned to Earth.

Juno made its closest approach at 4:52 a.m. EDT (0852 GMT), skimming 2,700 miles (4,400 kilometers) above Jupiter's cloud tops while traveling about 129,000 mph (208,000 km/h) relative to the planet, NASA officials said.

Peer-reviewed papers with more in-depth science results from Juno's first flybys are expected to be published within the next few months.

Juno launched on August 5, 2011, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, arrived in orbit around Jupiter on July 4, 2016.

During its mission of exploration, Juno soars low over the planet's cloud tops - as close as about 2,600 miles (4,100 kilometers).

Juno’s next close flyby of Jupiter will occur on May 19, 2017.