Juno in Jupiter encounter

NASA’S Juno spacecraft has flown closer to Jupiter than any other space probe and sent back data and images of the giant of the solar system.

Juno made its closest approach over Jupiter at the weekend at a distance of 4200km above the planet’s swirling clouds, NASA said.

The fly-by brought the spacecraft closer to the planet than at any other time during its prime mission.

It will take days for the data collected during the fly- by to be received and even more time for scientists to comprehend it. Scott Bolton, head of NASA’s Juno team, said: “We are in an orbit nobody has ever been in before, and these images give us a whole new perspective on this gas-giant world.”

The fly-by was the first of 36 planned during Juno’s mission, which is scheduled to end in February 2018. Juno has been orbiting Jupiter since July 4. It blasted off on August 5, 2011.