NASA has confirmed that the Juno spacecraft successfully completed its 76th close perijove1 pass of Jupiter, marking the end of its second mission extension.
Remarkably, despite operating in the most brutally intense radiation environment in the solar system, the heavily shielded spacecraft remains healthy.
NASA has granted a third mission extension, meaning Juno will continue its breathtakingly close flybys of both the gas giant and its volcanic moon, Io. The radiation has degraded some of the instruments, but the longevity of this mission has far exceeded all original expectations, continuing to provide unparalleled views of Jupiter's swirling polar cyclones.
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/juno/
1. Perijove is the specific point in an elliptical orbit where a satellite or spacecraft is at its closest distance to the center of Jupiter. The word combines the prefix peri- (meaning close or around) with Jove, a traditional astrological and astronomical name for Jupiter.
The "gee" part of perigee refers to Earth because it comes from "Gaea" (or Gaia), the ancient Greek goddess and personification of the Earth.
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