It turns out NASA's solar powered Juno spacecraft that will rendezvous with Jupiter on July 4 after a five-year odyssey has three teeny-weensy Lego astronauts stowed onboard.

The aluminum "Legonauts" as they're called by NASA and LEGO represent the Roman god Jupiter and his wife, Juno. The other Legonaut is the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei.

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Jupiter is shown holding his Thunderbolts. Juno is grasping a magnifying glass in her right hand to represent the search for truth. Galileo holds a telescope in his left hand and a model of the planet Jupiter in his right.

Unknown to most of the world, these three Legonauts were secretly sealed in a thermal protection case and stowed aboard the Juno spacecraft. The Legonauts were made as part of NASA and LEGOs "Bricks in Space" project.

NASA and LEGO specifically placed the trio aboard Juno to inspire children to explore science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Apart from the Legonauts, Juno carries a plaque dedicated to Galileo. The plaque was provided by the Italian Space Agency and measures 7.1 x 5.1 centimeters. It weighs six grams.

The plaque depicts a portrait of Galileo and a text in Galileo's own hand written in January 1610 while he was observing what would later be known to be the Galilean moons. The text translates into English as:

"On the 11th it was in this formation, and the star closest to Jupiter was half the size than the other and very close to the other so that during the previous nights all of the three observed stars looked of the same dimension and among them equally afar; so that it is evident that around Jupiter there are three moving stars invisible till this time to everyone."

NASA's Juno mission was launched in 2011 to investigate the origin and composition of Jupiter. Its mission is to investigate Jupiter far closer than ever before. Juno stands for "JUpiter Near-polar Orbiter.

Juno will be placed in a polar orbit to study Jupiter's composition, gravity field, magnetic field, and polar magnetosphere. It will also search for clues about how Jupiter formed, including whether it has a rocky core; the amount of water present within the deep atmosphere and its deep winds

Juno will fly along the tops of Jupiter's clouds and probe beneath them. Juno will orbit Jupiter 32 times during its mission.

TagsJuno spacecraft, NASA, Lego, Legonauts, Bricks in Space