NASA’s Juno spacecraft, which orbited Jupiter for nearly a decade and returned historic data about the giant planet, may have already ended its mission. But there’s no certainty about that.
Juno was launched in 2011 and entered Jupiter’s orbit in 2016, with an expected 20-month mission. But it continued to operate for nearly a decade, providing scientists with unprecedented data about Jupiter’s atmosphere, magnetic field, rings, and its large moons Ganymede, Europa, and Io.
NASA has extended its mission several times. That deadline has now passed, but the agency is unable to provide a current status update due to a funding freeze from the U.S. government.
If the mission is indeed over, it would leave a gap of several years in scientific studies before the next central mission, the Europa Clipper, arrives. Europa Clipper launched in October 2024 and will arrive at Jupiter in 2030 to study Europa in detail.
