Three things you need to know today.
Jupiter mission: NASA plans to launch its Mission Juno satellite on Friday to begin a five-year, 400-million-mile journey to Jupiter that the space agency hopes will help reveal how our solar system was formed.
Liftoff is scheduled for 11:34 a.m. ET.
Mission Juno will offer unprecedented insight into the formation of our solar system by investigating what lies underneath Jupiter's atmosphere, astronomers said at Kennedy Space Center. Jupiter is known for its violent storms and gaseous atmosphere.
Scott Bolton, principal investigator for the mission, said Jupiter - which is 1,300 times larger than Earth - holds a key to understanding the solar system because it's believed to be the first planet to have formed after the sun.
While this is not a manned mission, the satellite will carry a crew of three LEGO figures, 1.5-inch-tall likenesses of Galileo Galilei, the Roman god Jupiter and his wife Juno.
Galileo is credited with several discoveries about Jupiter, including finding four of its moons. The LEGO figurine will carry a telescope to salute this.
The mythological Jupiter was a mischief-maker who surrounded himself in clouds. Juno was able to see through those clouds to see what her husband was up to. The LEGO Juno will carry a magnifying glass on the mission while Jupiter carries a lightning bolt.
LEGO is partnering with NASA to promote children's interest in science, math, engineering and technology.
Jobs for vets: President Barack Obama will outline a new initiative Friday that aims to help former members of the military find private sector jobs, part of a renewed job creation effort focusing on unemployed veterans.
In a speech at the Washington Navy Yard, the president is expected to lay out a series of reforms that his administration is pledging will better prepare service members for the civilian work force and encourage employers to hire recent veterans.
Among the president's proposals will be a "Returning Heroes and Wounded Warrior Tax Credit," which would provide businesses that hire veterans a tax break, varying in size depending on how long the newly hired veteran has been unemployed and whether he or she has a disability.
At minimum in the president's proposal includes a $2,400 credit for hiring a short-term unemployed veteran while a $9,600 credit would be available for hiring a long-term unemployed and disabled veteran.
Tiger's comeback: Tiger Woods begins the second round of his comeback after three months off from golf due to injury. After one round of the World Golf Championships Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio, Woods is six strokes behind leader Adam Scott.
Sports Illustrated senior writer Gary Van Sickle looks at what Woods showed us in shooting a first-round, two under par 68.
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Hey who that was great I nominate you to head up nasa
This must be the result of a multimillion dollar study that indicates it is cheaper to send legos to Jupiter than a human to the moon. You know what else is cheaper, not going at all. NASA already gave up on humans in space. Just sell off the rest of the company to private firms and be done with it.
company?
You know what else this proves? That you are a short-sighted, narrow-minded idiot whose vision and curiosity don't extend beyond your belly and your tiny little tadger.
It's not that NASA "gave up" on manned space missions, it's simply that they cannot afford to continue them. I'm confident that if they had as much funding as they could spend we'd be looking at a very, very different NASA.
Oh goodie, a clearly informed person that calls himself "bassmaster". Surely this is the one to listen to.
TO HELL WITH NASA. IT IS ONE OF THE MOST WASTEFUL AGENCIES EVER!!!!!!!!!!
ya... exploration has never did anything for human kind.
You should do some research before you say that NASA is the most wasteful agency! Very ignorant!
Well, I see that you are very well informed indeed. Please keep stupid to yourself. Thanks – Mankind.
Yeah.... No benefits at all. Just an 8 to 1 return on investment for the economy (one of the best government investments *ever* in terms of positive economic impacts), countless technological advances ranging from fuel/power to materials science and food packaging, and a better understanding of ourselves and the world around us. Have a smoke detector in your home? NASA. Cordless drill? NASA. Satellite TV? NASA. I really, sincerely wish you would educate yourself. Please start with Google, and ideally visit your local library.
lol Jupiter's wife is holding a frying pan
HA HA HA HA!!! All she needs is a tray with a sandwich on it. I laughed so hard at this.
It's not really a magnifing glass Juno uses to see through the clouds to see what type of mischief her husband Jupiter is up to. But a fry pan to wack him over the heasds with.
Why can't I get those in my Lego set?
This is the account of Nasa's first attempt to have children interested in silence. As you can see, they failed with text to speech lol
Its a video game they made called "moonbase alpha." Tons of hits on youtube, not because of gameplay but because of the funny communication system.
This is Ramulin Starship Alpha Century, we will be boarding your space craft, please respond........I repeat, this is...........
Don't be surprised when the aliens come and try to snap plastic blocks on our heads...
phuk u
More government crap!
More uneducated and uninformed citizens!
In other news, our school district is working on cutting school from 5 days per week to 4 days per week due to budget cuts.... Glad to know Lego's are going to Jupiter, maybe they can bring back more intelligent life forms to run our country.
ok now that's funny.
Legos ARE the more intelligent life form, they're just hitching a ride back home.
Well that ought to keep the distant future's alien archeologists busy for awhile.
This is completely un-American. Lego's are from Denmark. Isn't it time this country's government starts buying American and promoting American goods.
American toy makers were not interested. In fact American companies in general have next to no interest in space exploration, education, community, or charity. These things would eat into their almighty profit margin.
I would also mention that space exploration is a very human frontier, a push for the future of our very species, and a dream that transcends national boundaries. But I'm sure such views would be considered un-American also.
The point here is that it will spark interest in science for kids. The mission is going to Jupiter with or without the Lego toys. The mission is not designed solely to transport the figurines.
Example: I have a plastic bobble head on my dashboard but when i go to Target ... i am not going to Target just so my Bobble head can go to Target.
Woah, slow down there turbo!
You mean that a task can have more than one mission that it is trying to accomplish?
On a less sarcastic note: It makes me sad that NASA is unable to afford to continue as it should.
Lego is paying a lot of money to NASA for the privilege of having their toys on the spacecraft. They are doing it to use their own very popular brand name to try and keep kids interested in space exploration, and to support what they consider to be a worthy cause. Sponsorship like this helps NASA and makes NASA that much less wasteful.
I think they should send a blow-up doll to Uranus.
I think they should send you with it.