NASA’s Juno spacecraft will reach a crucial stage of its five-year journey through space today.

Juno is on a mission to study Jupiter like never before, and it will soon enter the planet’s polar orbit in preparation.

On Independence Day in the US, experts at NASA will be watching a live stream of aeronautical history instead of fireworks.

Juno is currently approaching its destination inside Jupiter’s tremendous gravitational pull. As it gets closer, the Juno craft will accelerate to a mind-bending speed of over 241,000 km/h.

At a maximum speed of 266,000 km/h, Juno will fire its engines to slam on the brakes.

The engines will burn through nearly 8 tonnes of fuel over 35 minutes just to slow the 1,600 kg Juno spacecraft down.

The incredibly intense manoeuvre should leave Juno in Jupiter’s orbit, where it will remain for the next 18 months to provide an unprecedented view of the planet’s powerful gravitational and magnetic fields.

NASA has only one shot, and if they miss they will send Juno speeding irretrievably into deep space.

The engine burn will start just after 1pm, Australian time.

Check out all the action on NASA’s live TV channel, or via the video below.