NASA’s Next Great Spacecraft Will Arrive at Jupiter in a Week

(via Popular Mechanics) At about 9 p.m. Eastern on the Fourth of July, the Juno spacecraft will conclude a five-year journey when it carries out a series of complex maneuvers to insert itself into orbit around Jupiter.   Juno is the second orbiter ever sent to the gas giant, and it has traveled farther than any solar-powered spacecraft ever launched. Each of the three solar panels on Juno stretches almost 30 feet long to harvest the sun’s energy at such a distant point in the solar system.  Popular Mechanics has more on this exciting scientific event.