Imagine you are going on a space trip to visit a faraway planet. You need to bring lots of special tools and equipment to help you survive in space. However, space is full of dangerous things that could harm you, like radiation. Radiation is like tiny particles that can hurt your body and make you sick.
Now imagine you have a special box that can protect you from radiation. This box is called the Juno Radiation Vault. The Juno spacecraft is going to a planet called Jupiter, and it needs to protect itself from the high levels of radiation in the planet's environment.
The Juno spacecraft has three parts: the spacecraft body, the solar panels, and the Juno Radiation Vault. The Radiation Vault is like a big, heavy box that is made of titanium. It is about the size of a refrigerator and weighs about 200 pounds. It sits on top of the spacecraft body and is covered by the solar panels.
The Juno Radiation Vault has two layers of protection. The first layer is the titanium box itself, which is very strong and thick. The second layer is made of a special material called "Nextel". This material is like a blanket that surrounds the inside of the vault. The Nextel material is made of tiny fibers that reflect and absorb radiation. This helps to protect the spacecraft and the instruments inside from the harmful effects of radiation.
The Juno Radiation Vault is very important because without it, the Juno spacecraft and its instruments would not be able to survive the high levels of radiation around Jupiter. Scientists want to study Jupiter to learn more about the planet and its moons. The Juno spacecraft is helping us to do that, and the Juno Radiation Vault is keeping it safe along the way!