NASA's Juno spacecraft begins bid to orbit Jupiter

NASA's Juno spacecraft began its attempt to orbit Jupiter, the largest and most massive planet in the solar system, the US space agency announced.

Three astronauts from International Space Station make parachute landing

The unmanned solar-powered observatory began firing its main engine to slow down enough to be captured into Jupiter's orbit at 11:18 pm on Monday (0318 GMT on Tuesday), said officials at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

"We see the expected sharp shift upward in the Doppler residuals indicating the engine has started," said a member of mission control at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, as applause filled the room.

NASA counts down to orbit of Jupiter

It will be 35 minutes before NASA learns whether the maneuver was successful.

The mission cost $1.1 billion dollars and launched five years ago from Cape Canaveral, Florida.