A team of scientists suggests sending a swarm of tiny probes into Jupiter's atmosphere to learn more about the gas giant planet closest to Earth.

Each of the probes will be outfitted with different sensors, then fired into the clouds of the hot gas giant, the scientists behind the project explained. They probes will survive for an estimated 15 minutes and transmit roughly 20 megabits of data before burning up in the atmosphere.

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Their project is called SMAll Reconnaissance of Atmospheres project or SMARA. Since so much of the solar system's mass is contained in Jupiter, scientists think more data might be able to tell them more about the entire history of our immediate neighborhood.

Nano-sized cube satellites are ideal for this mission because of advances in the miniaturization of cameras, electronic equipment and other technological instruments. The clouds of gas giants like Jupiter need to be penetrated to gain more detailed data about the planets themselves.

Orbiting and fly-by probes have provided some information about the surface and atmosphere of outer planets such as Jupiter.

The mini-probes could survive the fall for much longer, especially without a parachute, compared to satellites and spacecraft that weight in excess of 650 pounds, researchers said.

"Our concept shows that for a small enough probe, you can strip off the parachute and still get enough time in the atmosphere to take meaningful data while keeping the relay close and the data rate high," explained study author John Moores from the of the Centre for Research in the Earth and Space Sciences (CRESS) at York University.

Furthermore, the European Space Agency plans to send a spacecraft to Jupiter by 2030. It would be simple to include the small probes with that mission, and the spacecraft could shoot the microprobes into Jupiter's atmosphere once it reaches its destination.

Researchers said learning about Jupiter could lead to more insights about how planets form.

Tagsspace exploration, Jupiter, solar system, Microprobes, planets, planetary mission, Jupiter mission