Here's what's next.
Juno. In 2016, NASA's Juno spacecraft will reveal new information about how Jupiter formed and evolved into the planet we see today. Juno will be able to sense how the planet is arranged on the inside, and how its deep atmosphere moves. The mission should finally tell us if the planet has a solid core, how deeply rooted the bands and storms are, and how the planet's powerful auroras are generated.
Europa Explorer. Both NASA and ESA are studying the possibility of sending spacecraft to orbit Europa and Ganymede, on missions to learn whether these icy moons contain oceans where life could arise.
In our investigations of the giant worlds, we are like explorers who have just tasted the wonders of a new continent. There is much yet to learn about Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, and their many moons – both from telescopic observations and from space missions.
