NASA’s curious Jupiter probe is increasingly linked to Jupiter’s most unstable moon, Io. The Juno spacecraft will carry out the closest encounter with a volcanic satellite on a mission in more than 20 years and collect valuable clues about its mysterious activity.
Juno will pass Io on Saturday, Dec. 30, bringing it within 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) of Jupiter’s hellish surface, according to the Sun. NASA. The spacecraft observed Io from distances ranging from 6,830 miles (11,000 kilometers) to more than 62,100 miles (100,000 kilometers) during previous flybys in May and July. The upcoming flyby will be a rare opportunity to see Io, the most volcanically active object in the solar system, up close.
“By combining data from this flyby with previous observations, Juno’s science team is studying how Io’s volcanoes change,” Juno principal investigator Scott Bolton said in a statement. Stated. “We need to know how often lava erupts, how bright and hot it is, how the shape of lava flows changes, and how Io’s activity interacts with the flow of charged particles in Jupiter’s magnetosphere. We are investigating whether they are related.”
The innermost of Jupiter’s large moons, Io is wedged between Jupiter’s massive gravity and the gravitational pull of its sister moons Europa and Ganymede. As a result, the moon is constantly expanding and contracting, which contributes to volcanic activity. The surfaces of Jupiter’s moons are home to hundreds of volcanoes and lakes of molten silicate lava.
NASA’s Juno spacecraft has been studying the Jupiter system since 2016, capturing some iconic images of Jupiter and its icy moons Ganymede and Europa. In October, Juno captured an eerie sight on Io, revealing its charred surface. closest moon view Until now.Juno too We took a cozy family photo of Jupiter and Io In September, the gas giant planet and its moons appeared side by side.
During Io’s upcoming approach, the spacecraft will focus all three cameras on the small moon. The Jupiter Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM), which images in infrared light, will collect signatures of heat emitted by volcanoes on the Moon’s surface, while the spacecraft’s Stellar Reference Unit (Navigation Star Camera) will image this on Io’s surface. Capture images with the highest resolution. was taken. The JunoCam imager takes visible-light color images of the moon.
Juno is scheduled for its second flyby of Io on February 3, 2024, when the spacecraft will come within about 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) of the moon’s surface. During upcoming flights, scientists will have the opportunity to collect data provided by her Juno. Remote observation with the Hubble Space Telescope and the Webb Space Telescope.
“Two flybys in December and February revealed that Juno was able to determine the source of Io’s massive volcanic activity, whether there is an ocean of magma beneath the crust, and the pressure on the beleaguered moon that is relentlessly squeezing the beleaguered moon. “We plan to investigate the importance of tidal forces from Jupiter,” Bolton said.
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