On this episode of Talking Space, we talk with Dr. David McComas, the principal investigator for JADE, the Jovian Auroral Distribution Experiment, aboard the spacecraft Juno launching to Jupiter on August 5, 2011. We discuss the spacecraft itself and many of the instruments onboard. We discuss the magnetosphere of the planet as well as the aurora which it produces. We talk about past Jovian spacecrafts, radiation belts, and the amazing size of the solar panels being used on board. This is one where you will come away amazed and well-educated on our solar system's largest planet.

For more information on Juno as heard in the show, visit:

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juno_(spacecraft)

The Southwest Research Institute's (SwRI) Juno website: http://missionjuno.swri.edu/

Host this week: Sawyer Rosenstein. Panel Members: Gene Mikulka, Mark Ratterman, and special guest Dr. David McComas

Show Recorded - 7/29/2011