Scientists: It’s do or die time for America’s primacy exploring the Solar System

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Key Takeaways:

  • 1. Juno, orbiting Jupiter since 2016, has faced radiation damage to its camera, JunoCam, due to Jupiter’s intense radiation belts.
  • 2. NASA is attempting to repair JunoCam through annealing, a self-healing process that involves heating and cooling the instrument’s electronics.
  • 3. Lessons learned from Juno’s radiation exposure could benefit future space missions, including NASA’s Europa Clipper probe.

Juno, in orbit around Jupiter since 2016, has faced radiation damage affecting its camera, JunoCam. NASA is exploring annealing as a repair method, with potential implications for future space missions. Lessons from Juno's experience could benefit spacecraft like the Europa Clipper probe, which is set to enter orbit around Jupiter in 2030.

Insight: Juno's exposure to Jupiter's radiation belts offers a unique opportunity to study the effects of radiation in space, with potential applications for improving the resilience of future spacecraft to such conditions.

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This article was curated by memoment.jp from the feed source: Ars Technica.

Read the original article here: https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/09/scientists-its-do-or-die-time-for-americas-primacy-exploring-the-solar-system/

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