Inglorious end? NASA's Juno Jupiter probe has probably been switched off
The US government is under a budget freeze and most of NASA's work has also been cancelled. It is therefore unclear what happened to the Juno probe.
Although NASA states that the Juno mission is still active, it also states that the website has not been updated since the start of the shutdown.
(Image: NASA)
NASA's Juno Jupiter probe may have ended its mission, but there is no confirmation due to the US budget freeze and the cancellation of many of the US space agency's activities. This is reported by the US magazine Space, which has not received a response to enquiries in this regard. At the beginning of 2021, Juno's mission duration was extended until September 2025, but this deadline has now expired. Since the government shutdown began on October 1, only tasks that are considered essential are now paid for by US authorities, so NASA has sent numerous employees home, no longer updates its website, and no longer issues statements. Therefore, the exact fate of Juno is unknown.
No probe active on Jupiter for now?
Juno has been orbiting Jupiter and exploring it and its moons for nine years. As part of its mission, the NASA probe was able to determine that the planet's magnetic field is significantly stronger than expected. In addition, thanks to Juno, researchers have already been able to observe that the north pole of the gas giant differs significantly from its south pole. Such analyses of the poles were one of the most important goals of the mission, as they were previously not visible to passing probes and were therefore still largely unexplored. The probe also contributed to the exploration of the volcanoes on the moon Io. Following the completion of the main mission in summer 2021, it should carry out over 40 further orbits as part of the extended mission and explore Ganymede, Europa, and Io in more detail.
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As Space explains, during a shutdown, NASA may only continue missions that are needed to protect life, property, or national security. US presidential priorities may also continue to be funded. None of this is likely to apply to Juno. Even in the most recent budget draft, no further money had been earmarked for the probe. This means that the ground-breaking mission has apparently been quietly cancelled, but there will only be clarity on this once the budget freeze has ended. This means that humanity will probably no longer have any active probes on Jupiter for now, but with NASA's Europa Clipper and ESA's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice), at least two are on their way there. However, they will not arrive until 2030 and 2031, respectively.
(mho)
