On This Day

NASA's Juno spacecraft successfully enters Jupiter's orbit

Juno is a NASA space probe orbiting the planet Jupiter. Built by Lockheed Martin and operated by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on...

Juno is a NASA space probe orbiting the planet Jupiter. Built by Lockheed Martin and operated by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on August 5, 2011 UTC, as part of the New Frontiers program. Juno entered a polar orbit of Jupiter on July 5, 2016, UTC, to begin a scientific investigation of the planet. After completing its mission, Juno was originally planned to be intentionally deorbited into Jupiter's atmosphere, but has since been approved to continue orbiting until contact is lost with the spacecraft. The FY2026 budget proposal from the second Trump administration would end the mission, however the continued funding for the mission is still being debated in the United States Congress.

Historical Significance

Juno is a NASA space probe orbiting the planet Jupiter.

Events Before

  1. Lithuania adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the Litas and becoming the 19th member of the Eurozone

    Lithuania adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the Litas and becoming the 19th member of the Eurozone

  2. 17-year-old Lydia Ko of New Zealand becomes the youngest golfer in men's or women's golf history to be ranked No. 1 in t

    17-year-old Lydia Ko of New Zealand becomes the youngest golfer in men's or women's golf history to be ranked No. 1 in the world

  3. Marvin Gaye's family wins a record $7.3 million lawsuit for music copyright infringement against Robin Thicke, Pharrell

    Marvin Gaye's family wins a record $7.3 million lawsuit for music copyright infringement against Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams, and T.I.

  4. TV personality Kris Jenner and athlete Bruce Jenner divorce after 13 years of marriage

    Caitlyn Marie Jenner, formerly known as Bruce Jenner, is an American media personality and retired Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete. Jenner played college football for the Graceland...

  5. Barack Obama and Raúl Castro meet in Panama, the first meeting of US and Cuban heads of state since the Cuban Revolution

    Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz is a Cuban politician and general who served as the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, the most senior position in the one-party communist state, from 2011 to...

Events After

  1. Australian Open Women's Tennis: Serena Williams defeats older sister Venus Williams 6–4, 6–4 for her 7th Australian titl

    Australian Open Women's Tennis: Serena Williams defeats older sister Venus Williams 6–4, 6–4 for her 7th Australian title and record 23rd Grand Slam event singles victory

  2. Discovery of a new mostly underwater continent, Zealandia, in the South Pacific is announced in the research journal "GS

    Discovery of a new mostly underwater continent, Zealandia, in the South Pacific is announced in the research journal "GSA Today"

  3. Jay-Z becomes the first rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame alongside Max Martin, Jimmy Jam, and Terry Lew

    Jay-Z becomes the first rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame alongside Max Martin, Jimmy Jam, and Terry Lewis

  4. World's oldest golf club, Muirfield in Scotland, votes to admit women as members for the first time in 273 years

    World's oldest golf club, Muirfield in Scotland, votes to admit women as members for the first time in 273 years

  5. Bob Dylan receives his Nobel Prize for Literature at a private ceremony in Stockholm

    Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter.

More from the 2010s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on July 4, 2016?
Juno is a NASA space probe orbiting the planet Jupiter. Built by Lockheed Martin and operated by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on August 5, 2011 UTC, as part of the New Frontiers program. Juno entered a polar orbit of Jupiter on July 5, 2016, UTC, to begin a scientific investigation of the planet.
Why is NASA's Juno spacecraft successfully enters Jupiter's orbit significant?
Juno is a NASA space probe orbiting the planet Jupiter.

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