No offense intended — us astronomy types tend to think “long term.”
What the article doesn’t say is that Juno will fly by the Earth and Moon in 2013 and do observations on the way to Jupiter. Plus, there will be yearly checkouts. It won’t exactly be sitting idle for five years.
LOL! No offense taken. We old lady types are forgiving of you astronomy types.
The article does not mention the observations’ being made during the slingshot maneuver, but it makes sense that there is no point of leaving her mute and idle throughout her journey to her final destination.