Journey to Jupiter

NASA spacecraft nears planet rendezvous

This artist's rendering provided by NASA and JPL-Caltech shows the Juno spacecraft above the planet Jupiter. Five years after its launch from Earth, Juno is scheduled to go into orbit around the gas giant on Monday, July 4. - photo by Associated Press

W Space Journey To Jupi Ledb — This artist's rendering provided by NASA and JPL-Caltech shows the Juno spacecraft above the planet Jupiter. Five years after its launch from Earth, Juno is scheduled to go into orbit around the gas giant on Monday, July 4. - photo by Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Jupiter takes center stage with the arrival next week of a NASA spacecraft built to peek through its thick, swirling clouds and map the planet from the inside out. The solar-powered Juno spacecraft is on the final leg of a five-year, 1.8 billion-mile (2.8 billion-kilometer) voyage to the biggest planet in the solar system. Juno promises to send back the best close-up views as it circles the planet for a year.

Associated Press

Associated Press