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NASA New Frontiers orbiter studying Jupiter from a highly elliptical near-polar orbit since July 2016, measuring the planet's gravity and magnetic fields, deep-atmosphere water and ammonia, and its polar magnetosphere and aurorae; in its extended mission it has also made close passes of Ganymede, Europa, Io and the inner moon Thebe.
- Launch vehicle
- Atlas V 551
- Launch site
- Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
- Countries
- United States, Italy
- Mission types
- Orbiter
Chronology
Mission timeline
Launch
Launch on Atlas V 551 from Cape Canaveral
Juno launched at 16:25 UTC (12:25 p.m. EDT) on an Atlas V 551 with a Centaur upper stage.
EarthGravity assist
Earth gravity-assist flyby
Single Earth flyby with a closest approach of about 559 km at 19:21 UT.
EarthOrbit insertion
Jupiter orbit insertion
A 35-minute main-engine burn placed Juno into its initial 53.5-day polar orbit; confirmation that the burn had completed was received at Earth at 03:53 UT on 5 July 2016 (11:53 p.m. EDT, 4 July). NASA mission pages describe the arrival as July 4, 2016 in US local time.
JupiterMilestone
NASA extends the mission through 2025
NASA extended Juno with 42 additional orbits, adding exploration of Jupiter's rings and flybys of Ganymede, Europa and Io.
Flyby
Close flyby of Ganymede
On June 7, 2021 (orbit 34) Juno passed within 645 miles (1,038 km) of Ganymede's surface at 1:35 p.m. EDT; the encounter reduced Juno's orbital period from about 53 days to 43 days. Only US local time is given by the source, so the event is recorded at day precision.
Flyby
Close flyby of Europa
Closest approach on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022 at 2:36 a.m. PDT (5:36 a.m. EDT) at a distance of about 219 miles (352 km); the flyby reduced Juno's orbital period from 43 to 38 days. Only US local time is given by the source, so the event is recorded at day precision.
Flyby
First close Io flyby (perijove 57)
Juno came within roughly 930 miles (1,500 km) of Io's surface, the nearest view of Io since the Galileo orbiter.
Flyby
Second close Io flyby (perijove 58)
A second close pass of Io; Io's gravitational pull during this flyby reduced Juno's orbital period around Jupiter to 33 days.
Flyby
Close pass of the inner moon Thebe
Juno's Stellar Reference Unit imaged Thebe from about 3,100 miles (5,000 km) at roughly 1.9 miles (3 km) per pixel, demonstrating that the spacecraft was still operating in 2026.
Mission architecture
Vehicles
Trajectory record
Trajectory dataset not yet available
No verified trajectory dataset is committed for this mission, so Mission Atlas renders no path.
Provenance
Sources
Each source is listed once and labeled with the mission, event, trajectory, or destination/body context it supports.
Data verified through August 23, 2026
- Juno - NSSDCA Master Catalog (spacecraft 2011-040A), archived snapshot — NSSDCAArchive · Supports: mission claims · event claims
- Juno - NSSDCA launch/orbital information (2011-040A), archived snapshot — NSSDCAArchive · Supports: mission claims · event claims
- Juno - NASA Science mission page — NASAMission page · Supports: mission claims · event claims
- NASA's Juno Spacecraft in Orbit Around Mighty Jupiter (Release 16-071) — NASAOther · Supports: mission claims · event claims
- NASA'S Juno Misson Captures Jupiter Moon Thebe (PIA26751) — NASAOther · Supports: mission claims · event claims
- NASA's Juno to Get a Close Look at Jupiter's Moon Ganymede — JPLOther · Supports: mission claims · event claims
- NASA's Juno Shares First Image From Flyby of Jupiter's Moon Europa — NASAOther · Supports: mission claims · event claims
- NASA's Juno Will Perform Close Flyby of Jupiter's Icy Moon Europa — NASAOther · Supports: mission claims · event claims
- Planet Sizes and Locations in Our Solar System — NASAOther · Supports: destination/body context