Juno Spacecraft Launches Toward Jupiter

The U.S. space agency launched the Juno spacecraft from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida Friday, beginning a five-year journey to Jupiter.

"3,2,1. Ignition and liftoff of the Atlas 5 [rocket] with Juno on a trek to Jupiter, a planetary piece of the puzzle on the beginning of our solar system," said a NASA commentator.

Juno is now on its way toward Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. NASA scientists hope this $1.1 billion mission will help them answer some key questions about the way Jupiter - and the solar system - evolved.

Jupiter is believed to have been the first planet to form in our solar system. Juno's eight instruments will study Jupiter's magnetic and gravity fields, as well as the composition of the planet's atmosphere and its core.

Water is a varying factor in many theories about the way planets formed, and, by knowing the amount of water in Jupiter's planetary makeup, scientists can rule out some existing theories of planetary evolution.