Solar-powered visitor begins orbiting Jupiter

Updated: 2016-07-06 07:27

(Agencies)

Mission Control at work prior to Juno mission at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in Pasadena, Calif. on Monday, July 4, 2016. [Photo/IC]

With its billowy clouds and colorful stripes, Jupiter is an extreme world that likely formed first, shortly after the sun. Unlocking its history may hold clues to understanding how Earth and the rest of the solar system developed.

Named after Jupiter's cloud-piercing wife in Roman mythology, Juno is only the second mission designed to spend time at Jupiter.

Galileo, launched in 1989, circled Jupiter for nearly a decade, beaming back splendid views of the planet and its numerous moons.