SCIENCE
Aluminium LEGOs Hitch a Ride Onboard NASA's Juno
Five years ago on August 5, the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Florida Marlins 3-2 on their way to a World Series win and volatile Wall Street ended its worst week since 2008.
20 July, 2016
On that same day, NASA's Juno mission left for a different planet altogether. Juno finally arrived at Jupiter this past July 4th.
What many people don't know is that, since the start of its five-year voyage, some very special travelers have been stowed away aboard Juno. Three LEGO figurines made of specially constructed aluminium have made the deep-space journey on their own mission as ambassadors, part of the LEGO Bricks in Space project that is a partnership with NASA to help inspire children to explore STEM education and careers.
The models of the Roman god Jupiter, his wife Juno and their trusted companion, Galileo Galilei, were last seen about 5.5 million miles (8.9 million km) from their destination as they rocketed closer to Jupiter's clouds. At Earth speeds of about 26.9 kilometers every second – just a little more than the standard length of a human marathon – the LEGO team aboard the Juno mission will have traveled 1.7 billion miles (2.7 billion km) to get there.
The models of the Roman god Jupiter, his wife Juno and their trusted companion, Galileo Galilei, were last seen about 5.5 million miles (8.9 million km) from their destination as they rocketed closer to Jupiter's clouds. At Earth speeds of about 26.9 kilometers every second – just a little more than the standard length of a human marathon – the LEGO team aboard the Juno mission will have traveled 1.7 billion miles (2.7 billion km) to get there.
Image: Lego
"In Greek and Roman mythology, Jupiter drew a veil of clouds around himself to hide his mischief," the LEGO company, based in Denmark, explained at the mission's outset. "From Mount Olympus, Juno was able to peer through the clouds and reveal Jupiter's true nature. The Juno spacecraft will also look beneath the clouds to help NASA understand the planet's structure and history." For that reason, Jupiter holds a lightning bolt in his hand, while Juno carries a magnifying glass to signify her quest for truth.
Little Galileo joins them with a telescope, in honor of the one used to discover the four moons of Jupiter that carry his name. Those moons are visible in this June 21 image taken as Juno makes its approach.
Little Galileo joins them with a telescope, in honor of the one used to discover the four moons of Jupiter that carry his name. Those moons are visible in this June 21 image taken as Juno makes its approach.
The LEGO figurines are made of a special space-grade aluminium, tucked together safely under thermal blankets just like the other items on the spacecraft. "They have gone through all the testing to make sure that they fit on our spacecraft in a way that is like our other science instruments," said Scott Bolton, the Juno team's principal investigator, at a prelaunch conference. Now his team at Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, is just days away from the beginning of Juno's 33 trips around Jupiter.
Juno will spend a year making those orbits before the solar-powered craft falls to the planet's surface, collecting science data that Bolton and others hope will answer the questions our children ask us – and some grownup questions too: "Does Jupiter have a solid core? How deep into the atmosphere do the Great Red Spot and other atmospheric features reach? How much water does Jupiter contain?"
The 1.5-inch aluminium LEGO toys will continue their mission as well. As good science ambassadors, they welcome their Earth friends to follow along with the Juno rocket – it's far away, but there's a radio signal that connects us, even if it takes about 40 minutes – and share the images of what they've seen. Additional Juno resources for students, teachers and the wide-eyed in us all are made available by NASA.
Image: Nasa
The 1.5-inch aluminium LEGO toys will continue their mission as well. As good science ambassadors, they welcome their Earth friends to follow along with the Juno rocket – it's far away, but there's a radio signal that connects us, even if it takes about 40 minutes – and share the images of what they've seen. Additional Juno resources for students, teachers and the wide-eyed in us all are made available by NASA.
Image: Nasa
Banner image: Nasa