@ 9:30 pm ET: See Juno Spacecraft Buzzes Earth

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A NASA spacecraft bound for Jupiter zoomed by Earth today (Oct. 9), picking up some much-needed speed for the long and looping trip to the solar system's largest planet.

 

NASA's Juno spacecraft came within 347 miles (558 kilometers) of Earth during its closest approach, which occurred at 3:21 p.m. EDT (1921 GMT) today over South Africa. The probe was expected to photograph Earth and the moon during the flyby, mission team members said.

 

[Zombie]

so our year will be a little longer now

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NASA Jupiter Probe Suffers Glitch After Earth Flyby

A NASA spacecraft bound for Jupiter went into a precautionary safe mode today (Oct. 9), shortly after completing a speed-boosting flyby of Earth.

 

NASA's Juno probe detected an anomalous condition and went into safe mode this afternoon after slingshotting around Earth to gain momentum for the long trip to the solar system's largest planet, according to media reports. While Juno's handlers are still trying to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it, they're hopeful that the problem won't threaten the $1.1 billion mission.