Juno is approaching Jupiter!

A couple of years back, a new kind of probe was launched from Cape Canaveral. Never before was a deep space probe equipped with solar panels. Up until then, all of them were powered by an RTG, a radio-isotope thermal generator, basically a kind of small nuclear reactor which could provide probes with power for a long time. For Juno it was different. The probe was fitted with three very large and sensitive solar panels. They would be able to provide Juno with enough power to fulfil its mission. Juno was put on top of a big Atlas V 551 and was launched  the 5th of august, 2011.

And now we are just about a month away from Juno entering the Iovian system. And what a mission it is going to be. Circling the giant gas planet in a polar orbit, Juno will map the planet's gravity and magnetic fields and study the different atmospheric layers and their compositions. After some 35 orbits Juno will be sent on a collision course with Jupiter's atmosphere and will be destroyed. Scientists don't want to pollute Jupiter's moons, possibly containing life, with debris which might be contaminated with earthly bacteria so burning up in Jupiter's thick atmosphere was the best option here. 

Now you might want to make a model of it. Well, there is a very nice paper model of Juno available.
 I made Juno, twice, actually, one in 1/96, put on top of the launch vehicle, and one in the deployed state, in 1/48. Twice as big. I used the model designed by John Jogerst as a template and remade the solar panels and added details to the visible outboard equipment of the probe. Here is the start of the 1/48 build story on my blog. Here is the 1/96 build.

John Jogerst's model is downloadable here as well as my add-on detail set. you can build the model without using the detail set of course but it does give lots of extra depth to it. That is up to you. 

Juno as I build it, in 1/48. This photo was made using just a bright white flash light to imitate the harsh sunlight in space. I suppose you would see Juno like this if you were to meet her in space yourself.