NASA's Livetweeting of Juno Mission Won the Internet
A 1/5 scale model size of NASA's solar-powered Juno spacecraft is displayed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. Richard Vogel/AP
Equal parts science and sass.
After traveling 1.7 billion miles over five years, NASA’s spacecraft Juno entered a perfect orbit around Jupiter late on July 4. Space enthusiasts could follow Juno’s journey through the spaceship’s own eyes via its Twitter account.
Equal parts science and sass, Juno’s live-tweeting personality won the internet. #DealWithIt.
Wait for the bass drop. Hear the roar of #Jupiter from when I entered the planet’s magnetic field https://t.co/bLn0rKT2s1
— NASA's Juno Mission (@NASAJuno) July 1, 2016
No turning back now. I’m 100,000 miles (161,000 km) from #Jupiter. https://t.co/yREeRz7b4E pic.twitter.com/E3aExFvMGp
— NASA's Juno Mission (@NASAJuno) July 5, 2016
Main engine burn is go. I’m burnin', burnin', burnin' for you, #Jupiter. pic.twitter.com/b3SHm3Gphj
— NASA's Juno Mission (@NASAJuno) July 5, 2016
Engine burn complete and orbit obtained. I’m ready to unlock all your secrets, #Jupiter. Deal with it.
— NASA's Juno Mission (@NASAJuno) July 5, 2016
And yet it moves. What Galileo saw through his telescope, I captured on approach to #Jupiter https://t.co/q3yCNsirYk pic.twitter.com/vBBwpoRMm0
— NASA's Juno Mission (@NASAJuno) July 5, 2016
Teamwork❤️! From #Jupiter to Earth: thanks, team for guiding me into orbit. And now… SCIENCE https://t.co/4tR0S3XwyD pic.twitter.com/17Bia2UTkR
— NASA's Juno Mission (@NASAJuno) July 5, 2016
NASA is a trailblazer when it comes to government entities cracking social media, and the space agency had a breakthrough back in 2008, when it tweeted as the Phoenix lander touching down on Mars in first person—a technique that became a surefire hit with audiences. It now has over 17 million followers on Twitter. The White House, the second-most popular government outfit, has fewer than 11 million followers.