The findings, published March 20 in AGU Advances, come from data recorded by Juno in 2021 and 2022 during an extended mission phase. Researchers analysed lightning signatures in Jupiter's atmosphere and found energy levels far exceeding anything observed on Earth.

Juno has been orbiting Jupiter since 2016 and completed its primary five-year science mission before receiving an extension. The spacecraft remains in good health, but its future is uncertain. Nearly a year ago, the Trump administration asked mission leaders to submit closeout plans for how to shut down their spacecraft as part of a proposed budget that would slash NASA's science funding by nearly half.

The issue is money. Juno and more than a dozen other robotic science missions are caught in a budget squeeze as the administration prioritises other spending. Mission teams have been operating under the shadow of potential termination while continuing to produce world-class science.

The lightning research adds to Juno's already impressive list of discoveries about Jupiter's atmosphere, magnetic field, and interior structure.