NASA’s Juno spacecraft is legendary for the beautiful images of Jupiter it recurrently captures utilizing its JunoCam instrument, and its analysis into Jupiter’s strange atmosphere. However just lately the spacecraft has additionally been investigating Jupiter’s moon, just like the icy Europa or the most important moon in our photo voltaic system, Ganymede.
Now, Juno will start an investigation of the intriguing volcanic moon Io. The spacecraft is about to carry out a collection of 9 flybys of Io starting on December 15, coming inside 930 miles of the moon’s floor.
This collection of flybys is a part of Juno’s extended mission to check Jupiter’s moons. “The staff is de facto excited to have Juno’s prolonged mission embody the examine of Jupiter’s moons. With every shut flyby, we’ve been capable of receive a wealth of recent data,” mentioned Juno Principal Investigator Scott Bolton of the Southwest Analysis Institute, in a statement. “Juno sensors are designed to check Jupiter, however we’ve been thrilled at how properly they will carry out double obligation by observing Jupiter’s moons.”
Io is of specific curiosity as a result of it’s the most volcanic place within the photo voltaic system, and it additionally has the best density and strongest floor gravity of any moon. Earlier analysis has proven it has over 400 energetic volcanoes, that are powered by tidal forces from Jupiter and its different moons creating friction that heats its inside. Earlier observations from Juno captured the infrared picture above, displaying sizzling spots throughout the moon’s floor.
Juno will examine the best way that Io’s volcanic exercise interacts with Jupiter’s magnetosphere, because the planet has a robust magnetic subject surrounding it that interacts with its moons. Juno’s observations of the moons are additionally paving the best way for future missions to check these objects in additional depth, just like the European Area Company’s JUpiter ICy moon Explorer or JUICE, and NASA’s Europa Clipper mission to Europa.