"Welcome to Jupiter!" NASA's spacecraft finally reaches its destination

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Podcasts Take Two

Jul 5, 2016

Listen • 7:47

"Welcome to Jupiter!" NASA's spacecraft finally reaches its destination

After five years and millions of miles, the Juno probe is in orbit around the fifth planet of the Sun. So what's the next step in finding out Jupiter's secrets?

This illustration show's NASA's Juno mission approaching Jupiter. Juno used distant stars to chart its course across the void.

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After five years and millions of miles, the Juno probe is in orbit around the fifth planet of the Sun. So what's the next step in finding out Jupiter's secrets?

Last night, after five years of anticipation and suspense, NASA successfully put the spacecraft Juno into orbit around Jupiter.

"WELCOME TO JUPITER!" flashed on screens at mission control at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, California, earning an ovation the space agency's workers.

To tell us more, senior editor at the Planetary Society, Emily Lakdawalla, joined the show.

To hear the full segment, click the blue play button above.