View of Juno’s position on May 16 from Eyes on the Solar System. (Click for an expanded view.)

See the Juno spacecraft’s current position and velocity using NASA’s Eyes on the Solar System 3D interactive or the NASA/JPL Solar System Simulator.

As of May 16, Juno was approximately 258 million miles (415 million kilometers) from Earth with a one-way signal travel time to Earth of approximately 23.1 minutes. Juno has now traveled 388 million miles (624 million kilometers) since launch and is currently traveling at a velocity of 37,800 miles (60,800 kilometers) per hour relative to the sun. Velocity relative to Earth is 95,200 miles (153,200 kilometers) per hour.

The Juno spacecraft is in excellent health and is operating nominally. Four instruments are turned on: the Magnetometer experiment (FGM & ASC), JEDI, MWR and Waves.

Most recent spacecraft significant events

During the period of May 9-16, the spacecraft successfully executed commands to warm its helium pressurant system and main engine injector plate – part of a series of tests in preparation for the mission’s upcoming deep space maneuvers, scheduled for Aug. 30 and Sept. 4. Juno carries two tanks of liquid helium (an inert, or non-reactive gas) to create pressure in the spacecraft’s propulsion system. The engine’s injector plate is a literally a metal plate with holes in it, through which the propellants spray into the bell-shaped engine nozzle. The recent tests verified the team’s predictions for the time it takes to bring these components up from their cold, deep-space temperatures to their nominal temperatures for engine firing.

The JunoCam operations team released additional details on May 15 about how Juno’s recent image of the Big Dipper was produced, including a full 360-degree JunoCam image swath. That news release is available from the Malin Space Science Systems website.

Have a question about Juno or Jupiter not covered on this website? Visit the mission website or email Juno's outreach team.