QUESTION 5
GS1
10 marks
How does the Juno Mission of NASA help to understand the origin and evolution of the Earth?
WRITE IN
7 min
150 words
What the examiner wants
Explain how studying Jupiter through Juno sheds light on how the solar system and Earth formed and evolved.
HowAnswer exactly what the question asks.
Demand-wise check
- 1Juno basics: launched 2011, entered polar orbit around Jupiter in July 2016≈30 words
- 2Objectives: water abundance, core structure, gravity and magnetic fields, aurora and magnetosphere≈30 words
- 3Link to Earth: Jupiter formed first and shaped the solar system; its water content reveals where volatiles came from; giant planet migration affected inner planets and Earth's water delivery≈30 words
- 4Comparative planetology: magnetic dynamo and atmosphere help understand Earth's own≈30 words
Open in about 20 words and close in about 20.
Answer plan
Mission basicsObjectivesWhy Jupiter holds the solar system's 'recipe'Link to EarthConclusion
Where marks usually go
- Describing Juno's instruments only, with no link to Earth
- Confusing Juno with Galileo or Cassini
Draw this
- Diagram: Juno's polar orbit with labels for core, water, magnetic field
Value addition
- FindingJuno found Jupiter has a large 'dilute' or fuzzy core rather than a compact one, changing models of planet formation.NASA Juno results, Nature 2019
- FindingJuno estimated water at about 0.25% of molecules in Jupiter's equatorial atmosphere, nearly three times the Sun's oxygen share, a clue to how volatiles reached planets.Li et al., Nature Astronomy, 2020
Next: plan for one minute, write it in 7 minutes, then get it checked.