Juno probe reaches Jupiter orbit after five-year NASA mission

The mission’s chief scientist describes it as ‘the hardest thing Nasa's ever done’

Nasa's Juno space probe has successfully entered orbit around Jupiter, arriving at the gas giant after a five-year journey from Earth.

The spacecraft completed a high-risk manouevre to slow down as it approached the planet, firing a rocket based on calculations which, if only slightly wrong, would have seen the £890m probe drift blast into oblivion.

A signal, received back on Earth to indicate the rocket blast had been a success, was met with cheering and applause at the mission's base at the Nasa Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California at around 4.54am (BST).

Chief scientist Scott Bolton congratulated his team, saying: “You've just done the hardest thing Nasa's ever done.”

A handout image released July 4, 2016 shows the final view taken by the JunoCam instrument on NASA's Juno spacecraft before Juno's instruments were powered down in preparation for orbit insertion (Reuters)

Juno will now face many challenges as it orbits in one of the harshest environments in the solar system, in the firing line for high levels of radiation and high-velocity dust and particles.

But if all goes to plan, the probe will return data and stunning images to offer an unprecedented insight into our largest near planet.

The arrival at Jupiter was dramatic. As Juno approached its target at around 3.18am, it fired its rocket engine to slow itself down and gently slipped into orbit. Because of the communication time lag between Jupiter and Earth, Juno was on autopilot when it executed the move.

“Juno, welcome to Jupiter,” said mission control commentator Jennifer Delavan of Lockheed Martin, which built Juno.

The spacecraft's camera and other instruments were switched off for arrival, so there won't be any pictures at the moment it reaches its destination. Hours before the encounter, Nasa released a series of images taken last week during the approach, showing Jupiter glowing yellow in the distance, circled by its four inner moons.

Scientists have promised close-up views of the planet when Juno skims the cloud tops during the 20-month mission.