Juno Mission: Jupiter's Gravity Field Model from Radio Science Data

Archival results from gravity investigations conducted during the Juno mission while the spacecraft was in orbit around Jupiter. The data set includes a spherical harmonic model of Jupiter's gravity field produced by Sapienza University of Rome, derived from X- and Ka-band radio tracking measurements made using the Juno spacecraft and Earth-based NASA Deep Space Network stations. Version 1.0 of this data was published by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Use Cases

• Modeling Jupiter's internal mass distribution based on the derived spherical harmonic gravity field.
• Analyzing spacecraft orbital dynamics based on radio tracking data from the Deep Space Network.
• Studying planetary formation and evolution by comparing gravity field models to theoretical predictions.
• Calibrating and validating other remote sensing instruments on the Juno spacecraft using gravity data.

Strengths

• Includes a spherical harmonic gravity field model produced by a specific institution (Sapienza University of Rome).
• Data originates from a primary NASA planetary science mission (Juno).
• Utilizes dual-frequency (X- and Ka-band) radio science measurements for precision.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and data volume are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Derived from raw X- and Ka-band radio tracking data between the Juno spacecraft and NASA Deep Space Network stations.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 16:59:04.566073; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Jupiter