On November 15, 2016, in the dark starry sky, a probe from Earth streaked through Jupiter's orbit with its back to the Sun. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

The probe from Earth, called Juno, was ignited and launched by the U.S. government on August 5, 2011 at Cape Canaveral, Florida, to explore data about Jupiter.

It is part of NASA's "New Frontiers" program, known as the "dragon slayer" against Jupiter, and will provide effective help for mankind to improve our understanding of Jupiter.

After five years and about 2.7 billion kilometers of travel, the $1.1 billion Juno project finally officially entered Jupiter's orbit on July 4, 2016.

After that, it moved at high speed in a highly elliptical orbit around Jupiter, and began more than four months of orbital change and observation of Jupiter.

The beeping sound lasted for three seconds, and Juno, which was passing Jupiter's aphelion at high speed, received a signal from Earth.

The moment this signal was received, Juno's internal computer activated a pre-programmed program that instructed it to begin maneuvering and changing orbits, and the three solar panels rotated faster. From one lap per minute in the cruising phase to two laps per minute in the scientific expedition phase.

When everything was ready, Juno quietly began its mission - to use a high-resolution optical camera to capture the beautiful aurora scene at Jupiter's poles.

Click, click!

Although there is no medium in space, so the sound of the camera cannot be heard, the shutter flickering motion shows that Juno is faithfully recording the magnetic storm that is being staged on this gaseous planet, which has 20,000 times the strength of the Earth's magnetic field.

After a photo is taken, it is converted into a piece of data, and then encrypted and transmitted to the earth more than 2 billion kilometers away.

Everything seemed so orderly, so leisurely, and suddenly, not far from the Juno, there was a light that flickered, and in the deep and quiet space, this flicker was extremely eye-catching, and then a behemoth faintly appeared in the darkness!

This behemoth is about 100 meters in diameter, it is a spherical metal flying machine, and its huge body is compared to the 3.5 meters in diameter of the Juno, which completely makes the Juno incomparable. It is like a deep-sea beast that has been dormant in the depths of the ocean for a long time sees its prey, and the power it shows in an instant makes the entire ocean overturn.

I saw that this spherical flying machine was carrying a huge searchlight, and the straight beam of light in the darkness cut through the sky like a sharp arrow. Of course, this is not an ordinary searchlight, but a full-band detection device.

As it gets closer to the sunny side, its appearance is also magnificent, in addition to a "lamp" on the round body, there are also four metal arms extended on the body, at first glance the shape is very funny, there is an inexplicable naïve.

The aircraft kept approaching the Juno, and when it was only a dozen meters apart, four metal arms stretched out, and one of the steel bones grabbed the Juno, and then pulled it slowly towards the main body.

A hole opened in the huge "belly", and then the metal arm flicked hard, and the Juno rolled and was thrown in.

After all this was done, the spherical vehicle's cabin closed, turned one hundred and eighty degrees in place, and then sailed away somewhere else very innocently.

There is too much garbage in space, and it is up to the "fat man" to clean it up.

……

At this time, the southeastern state of Alabama in the United States.

In the monitoring hall of the Marshall Space Flight Center in the southwestern suburbs of Huntsville, technicians are receiving data from Juno, and the entire hall is constantly moving around, and it is a busy scene.

Just as Juno sent back the third image, the datalink signal suddenly cut off, and all signals about Juno disappeared from the ground console.

The sudden situation stunned everyone in the monitoring hall, and for a few seconds, everyone's breathing stopped for a short time, and then they reacted, and the scene immediately exploded.

At this time, Dr. Elvis, the site director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory who was in charge of the entire exploration mission, hurriedly commanded his team to re-search Juno's signal after a brief loss of consciousness.

In the process of detector transmission and monitoring, due to various complex reasons resulting in signal instability, it is very common for the detector signal to disappear occasionally, and only need to re-establish the signal link.

Dr. Elvis is not very worried, because the place where Juno went this time is too far away from the Earth, and it takes about 48 minutes for the signal to be transmitted back to Earth from Jupiter at the speed of light, and the possibility of losing the signal during this period is relatively large, as long as Juno itself is not lost, it is not a big deal, and there is a full set of plans on the main engine of Juno, so there is nothing to worry about.

At this time, Dr. Elvis still looked calm, and instructed his subordinates to complete it one by one according to the usual procedures, but an hour passed, and the ground control platform still failed to establish contact with the Juno.

At this time, Dr. Elvis felt a little uneasy in his heart, and a bad premonition gradually came to him.

NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C., in a small lecture hall. Deputy Director Kozmo is presiding over a special presentation and updating the visiting US Secretary of State on the progress of the "New Frontier" program.

Accompanying the secretary of state for inspection were more than a dozen high-level US dignitaries in various fields, all of whom wore suits and leather shoes, and each one held a small notebook in his hand, looking meticulous. The reporters who accompanied them were already ready with long guns and short guns, they set up video and radio equipment, and after commissioning, they gave Kozmo an "OK" gesture, and the whole process was orderly and full of professionalism.

"Following the New Horizons probe, the Juno probe will be another effective tool for us to understand the solar system, which will help scientists probe planetary data such as Jupiter's composition, gravitational field, and magnetic field."

Kozmo was full of pride, and in front of these high-level executives, Juno successfully arrived at Jupiter and orbited Jupiter steadily for more than four months.

Under the attention of the listeners, he introduced it more passionately.

"Our Juno has a strong heart, and the RAD750 radiation-hardened processor allows it to withstand 1 million times the lethal dose of radiation that is expected to occur only once in 15 years in the furious environment around Jupiter. It also has a sturdy layer of armor, and most of the precision scientific instruments are placed in a 1 centimeter-thick metal titanium shell, which is protected by a titanium shell that reduces the intensity of radiation to it by 800 times, to below the level that the electronics can bear. ”

"In addition, Juno maintains its attitude, and instead of using a full-fledged reaction wheel scheme, we have adopted a slightly retro spin stabilization scheme, which can save the launch mass occupied by the reaction wheel, making room for a thicker titanium shell, more scientific instruments and more propellant."

The secretary of state nodded as he listened, and while he didn't necessarily fully understand, it was a great encouragement to Kozmo.

As Kozmo finished introducing the structure of the Juno, the dignitaries and reporters attending the meeting gave their own applause, and the whole venue was immediately drowned out by warm applause.

"Four months ago, Juno successfully entered the orbit around Jupiter, entering a 53.5-day Jupiter capture orbit. And after two weeks (circle) around Jupiter, that is, on October 19 of this year, it carried out its last major orbit change, changing the budget at a speed of 350 m/s, and entered a scientific orbit with a period of about 14 days. ”

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is all going very well! Yes, it went very well! We have a professional scientific research team, sophisticated observation equipment, and we have the best scientific research conditions to stand at the pinnacle of the entire human history! Our 'Dragon Slayer Warrior' is ready to show its sharp knives at any moment! Even poke Jupiter's 'Wulin Weakness'!! ”

The passionate speech undoubtedly ushered in a wave of applause again, and Kozmo pressed his hand with a flushed face, signaling the scene to be quiet: "After entering the scientific orbit, according to the follow-up plan, Juno will orbit Jupiter 36 times, weaving a huge 'birdcage' around Jupiter in all directions, and at that time, the probe will continue to send back detection data, and the whole picture of Jupiter will be displayed in front of us, so that it has nothing to hide......"

Just as Kozmo was indulging in the wonderful foreground, the door to the lecture hall was suddenly opened.

Kozmo, who interrupted his speech, was about to get angry, but saw his right-hand man come in, and the assistant had an anxious expression on his face, as if something important had happened.

He suppressed his anger, smiled apologetically at the secretary of state and other dignitaries, and stepped aside to listen to his aides' debriefings. If there is nothing important, interrupting his report at him will make him suffer.

"Tell me, what the hell is going on?" Kozmo asked seriously and earnestly.

"Director, something is wrong......

Then the assistant told the news that the Marshall Space Flight Center had lost the signal for Juno, and Kozmo felt a whirlwind surround him.

Finally calming down, Kozmo asked in a low voice, "Is it confirmed?" ”

"Yes, Director, Dr. Elvis of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory has confirmed the news."

"This news is really not coming at an opportune time...... Kozmo sighed, looked at his assistant, and then at the secretary of state and others who were talking not far away, his expression a little hideous.

"Remember, this news must be blocked, at least in the near future, and no outside reporters will be allowed to know about it......"

"Don't worry, Director, I know the seriousness of the matter!"

Now that the news media around the world are focusing on the news of Juno's successful arrival on Jupiter and scientific observation, the news of Juno's disappearance must not be allowed to spread, otherwise it will be a joke for the whole world.

Failure of scientific exploration is normal, but it is not a good thing for Kozmo, who has just boasted about Haikou.