'WELCOME TO JUPITER'

Nasa’s £800million Juno space probe enters orbit of ‘biggest, baddest planet’ in our solar system

The probe is set to spend 20 months studying mysteries of huge 'gas giant'

NASA's Juno space probe has entered Jupiter's orbit after a 1.8BILLION-MILE journey lasting five years, the space agency has announced.

Scientists faced a nail-biting 35-minute wait to see if the £800million mission had safely gone into orbit around the giant planet.

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Nasa's Juno space probe entered Jupiter's orbit at around 5am this morning. The £800million probe had spent five-years travelling to the Solar System's largest planetCredit: NASA
. "And it was a song of perfection."

Experts immediately labelled it Nasa's "most difficult" mission.

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Juno is set to spend 20 months uncovering the secrets of Jupiter - which at 11.2 times larger than the Earth is by far the Solar System's largest planet.

Its camera and scientific instruments were switched off prior to entry into the planet's atmosphere but will be turned on in the coming days.

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.

It is surrounded by rings of radiation which could fry a spaceship's systems.

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