The complex, ice-covered surface area of Jupiters moon Europa was captured by NASAs Juno spacecraft during a flyby on September 29, 2022. The image was taken from inside the ring looking out as Juno flew between Jupiter and the radiation belts during the spacecrafts 36th close flyby on September 2, 2021. The team is actually excited that throughout our extended mission, we broadened our examination to include 3 of the 4 Galilean satellites and Jupiters rings,” stated Juno Principal Investigator Scott Bolton of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. “With this flyby of Europa, Juno has now seen close-ups of two of the most intriguing moons of Jupiter, and their ice shell crusts look extremely various from each other. In June 2021, Juno sailed by Jupiters moon Ganymede– the solar systems largest moon.
Surface area functions of Jupiters icy moon Europa are exposed in an image obtained by Junos Stellar Reference Unit (SRU) throughout the spacecrafts September 29, 2022, flyby. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI
Observations from the Juno spacecrafts pass of the moon supplied the very first close-up in over 20 years of this ocean world, leading to exceptional imagery and special science.
The highest-resolution picture NASAs Juno objective has ever taken of a particular part of Jupiters moon Europa exposes a detailed view of a confusing region of the moons heavily fractured icy crust.
The image covers about 93 miles (150 kilometers) by 125 miles (200 kilometers) of Europas surface, exposing a region crisscrossed with a network of great grooves and double ridges (pairs of long parallel lines showing raised functions in the ice). Near the upper right of the image, as well as simply to the right and below center, are dark spots potentially connected to something from listed below emerging onto the surface area. Below center and to the right is a surface area feature that recalls a musical quarter note, measuring 42 miles (67 kilometers) north-south by 23 miles (37 kilometers) east-west. The white dots in the image are signatures of permeating high-energy particles from the serious radiation environment around the moon.
The complex, ice-covered surface area of Jupiters moon Europa was caught by NASAs Juno spacecraft during a flyby on September 29, 2022. At closest technique, the spacecraft came within a range of about 219 miles (352 kilometers). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SWRI/ MSSS.
Junos Stellar Reference Unit (SRU)– a star electronic camera used to orient the spacecraft– acquired the black-and-white image throughout the spacecrafts flyby of Europa on September 29, 2022, at a distance of about 256 miles (412 kilometers). With a resolution that ranges from 840 to 1,115 feet (256 to 340 meters) per pixel, the image was caught as Juno raced previous at about 15 miles per 2nd (24 kilometers per second) or 54,000 miles per hour (86,000 km/h) over a part of the surface that remained in nighttime, dimly lit by “Jupiter shine”– sunlight showing off Jupiters cloud tops.
Created for low-light conditions, the SRU has also shown itself an important science tool, discovering shallow lightning in Jupiters atmosphere, imaging Jupiters enigmatic ring system (see image below), and now offering a glimpse of some of Europas a lot of interesting geologic developments.
This high-resolution picture of Jupiters primary dust ring was gathered by the Stellar Reference Unit (SRU) navigation video camera aboard NASAs Juno spacecraft. The image was taken from inside the ring watching out as Juno flew between Jupiter and the radiation belts throughout the spacecrafts 36th close flyby on September 2, 2021. The brightest thin dust bands are connected with the orbits of Jupiters little moons, Metis and Adrastea. The image is at a resolution of nearly 20 miles (32 kilometers) per pixel. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
” This image is unlocking an incredible level of information in an area not formerly imaged at such resolution and under such revealing illumination conditions,” said Heidi Becker, the lead co-investigator for the SRU. “The teams usage of a star-tracker video camera for science is a fantastic example of Junos groundbreaking abilities. These functions are so appealing. Comprehending how they formed– and how they link to Europas history– notifies us about internal and external processes forming the icy crust.”.
It will not simply be Junos SRU scientists who will be hectic examining information in the coming weeks. During Junos 45th orbit around Jupiter, all of the spacecrafts science instruments were gathering information both throughout the Europa flyby and then again as Juno flew over Jupiters poles a brief 7 1/2 hours later.
” Juno began entirely focused on Jupiter. The team is truly excited that throughout our extended mission, we expanded our examination to consist of three of the 4 Galilean satellites and Jupiters rings,” said Juno Principal Investigator Scott Bolton of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. “With this flyby of Europa, Juno has now seen close-ups of 2 of the most fascinating moons of Jupiter, and their ice shell crusts look really various from each other. In 2023, Io, the most volcanic body in the solar system, will sign up with the club.” In June 2021, Juno cruised by Jupiters moon Ganymede– the planetary systems biggest moon.
Europa is the solar systems sixth-largest moon with about 90% of the equatorial size of Earths moon. Scientists are confident a salted ocean lies listed below a miles-thick ice shell, stimulating concerns about the potential habitability of the ocean. In the early 2030s, NASAs Europa Clipper spacecraft will strive and get here to respond to these concerns about Europas habitability. The data from the Juno flyby supplies a sneak peek of what that mission will reveal.
More About the Mission.
NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), a department of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, California, manages the Juno objective for the primary investigator, Scott J. Bolton, of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver constructed and operates the spacecraft. Juno is part of NASAs New Frontiers Program, which is managed at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the companys Science Mission Directorate in Washington.