A Nasa space craft is blasting off for giant planet Jupiter, carrying three tiny Lego crew members. They are on the space probe Juno in a bid to inspire schoolkids about science during the £430 million mission. The 1.5in-high figures are Roman god Jupiter, his wife Juno and Italian astronomer Galileo, who used one of the first telescopes to discover the planet's four main moons.
They will blast off from Florida and are due to reach the planet in 2016. The 20-yards wide solar-powered probe will then try to penetrate dense clouds to find out what gas-ball Jupiter is made of. Juno will be bombarded by deadly radiation during its orbits, with its sensitive electronics shielded inside half-inch thick titanium walls to prevent them from being fried.