Making the trip to space

5 August 2011 01:45 am

This NASA handout image released August 3, 2011 shows three LEGO figurines flying aboard the Juno spacecraft are the Roman god Jupiter(R), his wife Juno and Galileo Galilei(L). Juno is set to launch toward Jupiter aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on August 5, 20115. The launch window extends from 11:34 a.m. to 12:33 p.m. EDT (8:34 to 9:33 a.m. PDT), and the launch period extends through Aug. 26. The spacecraft is expected to arrive at Jupiter in 2016, on a mission to investigate the gas giant's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere. Juno's color camera will provide close-up images of Jupiter, including the first detailed views of the planets' poles. AFP PHOTO