London, Jul 31 (IANS): NASA will launch a spacecraft Friday to unravel the secrets of Jupiter, the largest planet in the universe.

Temperatures on Jupiter drop to minus 234 degrees Fahrenheit, or about 145 degrees Celsius, thick brooding clouds obscure its atmosphere and winds rage at a peak of 384 miles per hour, or 618 km an hour.

The spacecraft, named Juno after the ancient Roman goddess, will explore what drives the violent weather on Jupiter and what lies beneath its stormy clouds.

The $1.1 billion probe will peer through the planet - 1,321 times as big as earth - and find out what lies under its atmosphere.

Juno will begin its 1,740 million-mile journey after launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, US, the Telegraph reports.

Hovering 3,100 miles above Jupiter's multihued clouds, the 66-foot wide Juno probe will spend a year looking deep inside the giant gas planet.

Scott Bolton, NASA mission's principal investigator, said: "What we are trying to do is discover the recipe for planet formation. We are looking at the ingredient list and what is at the core of the planet."

Juno is carrying a suite of eight instruments to help it reveal clues about how Jupiter formed and evolved.