Juno

NASA's Juno orbiter mission to Jupiter has been thrown a lifeline after the approval of a 41-month extension. The unmanned spacecraft will have additional time to complete its primary science observations, with the extra time required due to the spacecraft taking longer than planned orbits.

Having completed 10 close passes as near as 2,200 miles (3,500 kilometers) above the cloud tops of Jupiter, NASA's Juno orbiter has found evidence that the famous cloud bands extend deep into the atmosphere, as well as clues to the nature of the planet's core.

​The Great Red Spot, a storm bigger than Earth, has been raging on Jupiter for centuries. We’ve known its 2D size for a long time, but after a close flyover in July, Juno has finally revealed how deep into the atmosphere the storm’s roots run.

​​NASA has released a playlist of haunting audio clips created from real data collected by famous spacecraft, such as the late great Cassini and Voyager 1, as they unravel the secrets of our fascinating and diverse solar system.​

A few days ago, the Juno probe completed the closest flyby of Jupiter's infamous Great Red Spot ever conducted by a spacecraft. After an agonizing wait the photos are now in… and they are absolutely incredible.

Juno chalked another one up for the history books as it completed the first close flyby of Jupiter's Great Red Spot. NASA today confirmed that the unmanned probe passed within 5,600 mi (9,000 km) of the giant storm at 7:06 pm PDT on June 10 during its sixth science orbit of the planet.

​A massive storm bigger than the Earth has been raging for centuries on Jupiter, and now Juno is swooping in for a closer look. It will come within a few thousand miles of the Great Red Spot, probing the storm to hopefully reveal some of its mysteries, and snap some stunning photos in the process.

​Since entering orbit around Jupiter last July, NASA's Juno probe has circled the gas giant every 53 days. This week, scientists are publishing the results of the orbiter's first data collection pass, with an unexpectedly strong magnetic field one of the Jovian features to catch them by surprise.

It's official: Jupiter is big enough to be home to not just one, but two great spots. University of Leicester astronomers report that they have discovered what they call the "Great Cold Spot" that is almost as big as the gas giant's famed "Great Red Spot."

While the Juno probe has had lots of successes, the mission has also had a few hiccups. Because of issues discovered in October with two helium check valves, NASA has announced that it'll be abandoning the maneuver to put the probe into a closer orbit with Jupiter, deeming it too risky.

Scientists from the US and France have built a miniature "tabletop" Jupiter that provides an analog simulation of the Jovian atmosphere's deep structure and internal dynamics.

It has been largely smooth sailing for NASA's Juno probe since it entered orbit around Jupiter a few months ago, but some minor hiccups are keeping mission operators on their toes.