NASA Juno Mission Back To Full Operation After Some Issues: What Happened?

On 4 April 2025, the NASA Juno mission went into safe mode twice, indicating that it was facing some operational issues. This issue was during one of its flyby of Jupiter collecting data on the planet, but this didn’t last for long.

NASA Juno Still Running After Facing Operational Issues

NASA Juno mission set out for space on 5 August 2011 with the sole objective of exploring the Jovian system. It went into full operation regarding its mission in 2016 after making its way to Jupiter, where its mission officially commenced.

This mission has been in operation for over nine years, and a few days ago it experienced some issues threatening its mission. During its 71st close approach to the planet Jupiter, the Juno spacecraft went into a precautionary status that NASA calls a “Safe Mode.”

A spacecraft goes into this state when it detects anomalies in its operation, hence ensuring that it stays on the cause of its mission. In this state, the spacecraft focuses its energy on the essential tasks necessary for the completion of its mission like communication and power management.

NASA Juno is said to have entered this state twice during its 71st close passage of Jupiter on 4 April 2024. This first safe mode was entered at 5:17 am EDT just an hour before the close passage known as preijovi while the second safe mode was entered 45 minutes after its fly-by.

With each safe mode, the spacecraft was able to manage its power distribution, focusing on essential equipment. To maintain communications with Earth, Juno turned its antenna towards our home planet, hence helping NASA to track its whereabouts.

Possible Cause Of NASA Juno Entering Safe Mode Twice

This isn’t the first time Juno entered safe mode during a fly-by of the planet Jupiter. Before this event, the spacecraft entered safe mode two more times, once in 2016 during its second orbit of the planet and in 2022 during its 39th orbit.

In total NASA Juno has gone into safe mode four times and a possible reason for these events is the make-up of Jupiter’s environment. The planet’s radiation belts closest to it are very intense as they emit high-energy particles that can impact Juno’s electronics hence altering its mission.

NASA points out that “ Early indications suggest the two Perijove 71 safe-mode events occurred as the spacecraft flew through these belts.” However, Juno’s titanium radiation vault helps it to handle these radiations hence enabling it to enter safe mode instead of shutting down completely when it faces such challenges.

Juno is fully operational and will continue its mission as it explores Jupiter, collecting data for a better understanding of the planet. The next close flyby of Jupiter for this spacecraft will be on 7 May 2025, where it’ll travel at a distance of 55,300 miles from Jupiter’s moon lo.