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BOULDER, Colo. — NASA’s Juno mission is scheduled to reach its final destination on July 4, thanks partly to scientists in Colorado.

Since launching in 2011, Juno has traveled nearly 2 billion miles to reach the largest planet in the solar system.

The mission aims better understand the origin and evolution of the gas giant.

Researchers hope to determine whether the planet has a solid core. Instruments aboard Juno will try to measure the planet’s magnetic fields, hunt for water vapor and observe the polar auroras, according to officials with the University of Colorado Boulder.

Three researchers from CU’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics and five students are part of the Juno mission.

Understanding how Jupiter formed could help scientist understand how the rest of the solar system evolved.

“We think it pushed a lot of planetary material around early in its history, helping to shape the solar system we see today,” CU Boulder professor Fran Bagenal of LASP said.

Bagenal is coordinating many of the science observations for the mission. Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Littleton built the solar-powered spacecraft.

“Juno is about the size of a Volkswagen and is encased in a protective radiation vault,” according to officials. “Its three solar panels make the spinning spacecraft more than 65 feet in diameter.”

While orbiting Jupiter, Juno will receive 25 times less sunlight than it would at Earth, according to Lockheed Martin.

“Its three large solar array wings, with more than 18,000 individual solar cells, produce about 500 watts at Jupiter, enough to power its heaters, computers and instruments,” Lockheed Martin officials said.

Juno’s orbit-insertion phase is expected to begin at 7:16 p.m. MDT, and will air live on NASA’s website and on Facebook.

At approximately 9:16 p.m., Juno will perform its orbit insertion maneuver.

A 35-minute burn of its main engine will slow the spacecraft by about 1,212 mph so it can be captured into the gas giant’s orbit, according to NASA. After the main engine burn, Juno will be in orbit around Jupiter.

“Once in Jupiter’s orbit, the spacecraft will circle the Jovian world 37 times during 20 months, skimming to within 3,100 miles above the cloud tops,” NASA officials said. “This is the first time a spacecraft will orbit the poles of Jupiter, providing new answers to ongoing mysteries about the planet’s core, composition and magnetic fields.”

Interact with the Juno mission

You interact with the Juno mission by voting on what points of interest the JunoCam will photograph.

“[Unlike] previous space missions, professional scientists will not be the ones producing the processed views, or even choosing which images to capture. Instead, the public will act as a virtual imaging team, participating in key steps of the process, from identifying features of interest to sharing the finished images online,” officials said.

The planet is known for its colorful storms. Days before Juno was set to enter Jupiter’s orbit, NASA captured stunning images of polar auroras, using the Hubble telescope’s ultraviolet capabilities.

“It almost seems as if Jupiter is throwing a firework party for the imminent arrival of Juno,” said Jonathan Nichols from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom.