Following its launch in August 2011 and a boost from an Earth flyby in October 2013, Juno arrived at Jupiter on 4 July 2016. From its unique perspective in a highly elongated polar orbit that carries it low over the planet’s cloud tops every 53 days, Juno is providing a revolutionary new view of Jupiter. By peering beneath the clouds with a powerful suite of instruments, Juno is fundamentally challenging our basic assumptions about the origin and evolution of gas giants. The mission is not only reshaping our understanding of the planets in our own solar system, but also is providing context to help us interpret observations of large gas-rich planets orbiting other stars. High-resolution imagery returned by Juno’s camera has revealed a myriad of Earth-size cyclones raging in Jupiter’s atmosphere. Microwave measurements have discovered layers of ammonia clouds stretching to great depths. The atmosphere is not homogeneous, which fundamentally challenges our ideas of how giant planet atmospheres work. Magnetometer observations reveal a stronger and less uniform magnetic field than expected, suggesting that the field originates above the metallic hydrogen region of the planet’s deep interior. Images that bridge art and science will be shown (Jupiter is amazing), and Juno’s image data are all produced by the public, which is a first for NASA.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Scott Bolton is an Associate Vice President at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in San Antonio, Texas. Dr. Bolton is also the Principal Investigator for the Juno project, a project within NASA’s New Frontiers Program. Prior to being Director at SwRI, Dr. Bolton was a senior scientist and manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for over 25 years. His research area is planetary sciences with a focus on the giant planets and the origin of the solar system. Dr. Bolton was previously a member of the Galileo and Cassini–Huygens missions and has also worked on high-energy radiation belt modeling. Dr. Bolton also manages the coordination and development of future NASA mission and instrumentation proposals for Space Science and Engineering Division at SwRI, managing the strategic plan, partnership selection and proposal quality. Dr. Bolton’s division includes over 250 scientists and engineers working on planetary, astrophysics, Earth and heliophysics research.

As Principal Investigator of Juno, Dr. Bolton is responsible for all aspects of the Juno program including project management by JPL, spacecraft development at Lockheed Martin, all science instruments, launch vehicle development and operation, and the resulting scientific analysis throughout the life of the project. Dr. Bolton has more than 30 years experience in the field of aerospace and space science. He has held a wide range of positions including those associated with mission design, engineering, scientific research and program management for various space missions related to NASA’s exploration of the Earth, the solar system, and the fields astrophysics and space physics. In addition to his scientific research, Dr. Bolton’s experience at JPL and SwRI includes team management, instrument design and delivery, mission development, science planning, and science operations. Dr. Bolton received his B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from U. Michigan in 1980, and a Ph.D. in Astrophysics from U.C. Berkeley in 1990.

Dr. Bolton is a Co-Investigator on a number of NASA missions including experiments on the upcoming mission to Europa, the Cassini orbiter now at Saturn, and the Galileo mission that arrived at Jupiter in 1995. Dr. Bolton chaired the Titan science group for the Cassini-Huygens mission and was responsible for the formulation of the scientific investigation of Saturn’s moon Titan. Dr. Bolton managed the development of the plan for the Galileo mission’s fields and particles observations and was instrumental in conceiving the general strategy for Galileo’s mission. Dr. Bolton has been a Principal Investigator with NASA on various research programs since 1988. His research includes the modeling of the Jovian and Saturnian radiation belts, planetary and astrophysical synchrotron emission, atmospheric dynamics and composition, and the formation and evolution of the solar system. He has authored over 250 scientific papers, five book chapters, and consulted/appeared on eleven space science documentaries.

Dr. Bolton also leads a number of educational programs aimed at developing science, math and art skills for children from elementary to high school level. As part of the NASA Juno educational Outreach Program, Dr. Bolton has dedicated over $25M to educational programs involving both formal and informal education including the creation of science and math curriculum driving new national standards for elementary level education (an age bracket known to be underserved in this area). Dr. Bolton has leveraged this investment by assembling a number of corporate sponsors dedicated to his NASA educational programs, including Honda, Canon, Lego, Apple and Microsoft. Dr. Bolton leads an innovative program, in partnership with the Lewis Center for Educational Excellence, providing an opportunity for elementary to high school level children to experience the scientific and engineering process directly. This program trains teachers on science and math education and provides access to NASA research facilities and scientists to hundreds of schools around the country. Through his additional independent efforts, Dr. Bolton’s has produced a number of musical concerts, art exhibits, scientific documentaries and videos aimed at inspiring and motivating children for their academic studies. He is one of two founding members of the Vangelis Foundation in Athens, Greece dedicated to the combined study of Science, Math, Art, Music and Philosophy. In 2015, Dr. Bolton formed a collaboration between Apple and NASA to develop education and public awareness of the intersection of the arts and sciences. Within this program, he has worked with a number of musicians in composing music highlighting the arts and sciences, including Little Big Town, Brad Paisley, Herbie Hancock, YoYo Ma, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, Quin, GZA, Corine Bailey Rae, Boots, Jim James, and Zoe.  
                   
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