A mission NASA might kill is still returning fascinating science from Jupiter

NASA’s Juno spacecraft is delivering remarkable insights from Jupiter, revealing that the planet’s massive storms produce lightning strikes that are at least 100 times stronger than those on Earth. This groundbreaking information was shared in a study published on March 20 in the journal AGU Advances, highlighting data collected by Juno during 2021 and 2022. Despite Juno’s ongoing success, its future hangs in the balance. NASA has yet to decide whether to extend the mission further, even though Juno is in good condition after completing a five-year primary science campaign. The potential extension is complicated by budgetary concerns; a year ago, the Trump administration urged mission leaders to prepare for the shutdown of their spacecraft due to proposed significant cuts to NASA’s science funding. While some missions have received approval to continue, like the OSIRIS-APEX project, which successfully returned asteroid samples in 2023 and is now targeting another asteroid for 2029, others face uncertainty. NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will be funded for at least three more years, but the overall budget remains under pressure. Congress has pushed back against many of the proposed cuts, allocating $2.54 billion for NASA’s planetary science division in the fiscal year 2026 budget—though this amount still falls short of last year’s funding levels. Louise Prockter, director of NASA’s planetary science division, acknowledged the challenges ahead, stating that the agency cannot sustain all its previous endeavors. The current budget constraints are forcing difficult choices as they strive to maximize scientific exploration amidst financial limitations.