In less than 3 days, on Thursday, September 29, at 2:36 a.m. PDT (5:36 a.m. EDT), NASAs Juno spacecraft will come within 222 miles (358 kilometers) of the surface of Jupiters ice-covered moon, Europa. “Europa is such an appealing Jovian moon, it is the focus of its own future NASA mission,” said Juno Principal Investigator Scott Bolton of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. Junos prolonged objective includes flybys of the moons Ganymede, Europa, and Io. The Juno science group will compare them to images from previous objectives, so they can discover any modifications in Europas surface features that might have taken place over the past two years. Junos closeup views and information from its MWR instrument will inform the Europa Clipper objective, which will carry out almost 50 flybys of the icy moon after it shows up at Europa in 2030.
An artists idea of the Juno spacecraft in orbit around Jupiter. Credit: NASA
As the Juno spacecraft makes a close approach of the moon Europa, it is anticipated to offer valuable science– and amazing images– for NASAs upcoming Europa Clipper mission.
In less than 3 days, on Thursday, September 29, at 2:36 a.m. PDT (5:36 a.m. EDT), NASAs Juno spacecraft will come within 222 miles (358 kilometers) of the surface area of Jupiters ice-covered moon, Europa. Throughout the close flyby, the solar-powered spacecraft is anticipated to get some of the highest-resolution images ever taken of portions of Europas surface. It will also gather important information on the moons interior, surface structure, and ionosphere, along with its interaction with Jupiters magnetosphere.
Future objectives might benefit significantly from this comprehensive details. One such mission is Europa Clipper, which is set to introduce in 2024 to study the icy moon. “Europa is such an intriguing Jovian moon, it is the focus of its own future NASA mission,” stated Juno Principal Investigator Scott Bolton of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. “Were delighted to provide data that might assist the Europa Clipper team with objective planning, in addition to provide new clinical insights into this icy world.”
This image of Jupiters moon Europa was taken by the JunoCam imager aboard NASAs Juno spacecraft on Oct. 16, 2021, from a range of about 51,000 miles (82,000 kilometers). Credit: Image information: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/ MSSS, Image processing: Andrea Luck CC BY
Europa has to do with 90% the size of Earths Moon, with an equatorial diameter of 1,940 miles (3,100 kilometers). Researchers think a salty ocean lies below a miles-thick ice shell, sparking concerns about possible conditions efficient in supporting life underneath Europas surface.
It will be the closest a NASA spacecraft has actually approached Europa in over 22 years, since Galileo came within 218 miles (351 kilometers) on January 3, 2000. Additionally, this flyby marks the 2nd encounter with a Galilean moon throughout Junos extended mission.
Information collection on the spacecraft will begin an hour prior to closest method, when the Juno is 51,820 miles (83,397 kilometers) from Europa.
” The relative velocity between spacecraft and moon will be 14.7 miles per 2nd (23.6 kilometers per second), so we are screaming by pretty quick,” stated John Bordi, Juno deputy mission manager at JPL. “All steps have to go like clockwork to effectively get our planned information, because right after the flyby is complete, the spacecraft requires to be reoriented for our upcoming close technique of Jupiter, which happens only 7 1/2 hours later on.”
Junos extended objective consists of flybys of the moons Ganymede, Europa, and Io. This graphic portrays the spacecrafts orbits of Jupiter– labeled “PJ” for perijove, or point of closest approach to the world– from its prime mission in gray to the 42 orbits of its prolonged mission in tones of purple and blue. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI
Junos complete suite of instruments and sensors will be triggered for the Europa encounter. The spacecrafts Jupiter Energetic-Particle Detector Instrument (JEDI) and its medium-gain (X-band) radio antenna will gather data on Europas ionosphere. Its Waves, Jovian Auroral Distributions Experiment (JADE), and Magnetometer (MAG) experiments will measure plasma in the moons wake as Juno checks out Europas interaction with Jupiters magnetosphere.
MAG and Waves will likewise browse for possible water plumes above Europas surface area. “We have the right equipment to do the task, however to record a plume will need a lot of luck,” said Bolton. “We need to be at the best place at just the correct time, however if we are so lucky, its a crowning achievement for sure.”
Inside and Out
Junos Microwave Radiometer (MWR) will look into Europas water-ice crust to acquire data on its composition and temperature level. This is the very first time that information like this will be collected to study the moons icy shell.
In addition, during the flyby the objective expects to take 4 visible-light pictures of the moon with JunoCam (a public-engagement electronic camera). The Juno science team will compare them to images from previous missions, so they can discover any changes in Europas surface functions that may have happened over the past twenty years. These visible-light images will have an anticipated resolution of better than 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) per pixel.
This motion picture was produced utilizing imagery gathered on October 29, 2018, during Junos 16th perijove (the point at which an orbit comes closest to Jupiters center). Citizen researchers Gerald Eichstädt developed this motion picture using data from the spacecrafts JunoCam imager. Credit: Enhanced image by Gerald Eichstädt based on images provided thanks to NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/ MSSS.
Juno will be in Europas shadow when closest to the moon. The objectives star camera (called the Stellar Reference Unit) will take a high-resolution black-and-white image of Europas surface.
Junos closeup views and data from its MWR instrument will inform the Europa Clipper objective, which will carry out practically 50 flybys of the icy moon after it reaches Europa in 2030. Europa Clipper will collect information on the moons interior, surface, and environment. With this info, researchers anticipate to much better understand Europas worldwide subsurface ocean, the thickness of its ice crust, and possible plumes that might be venting subsurface water into space.
More About the Mission.
NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), a department of Caltech in Pasadena, California, handles the Juno mission for the principal detective, Scott J. Bolton, of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. Juno becomes part of NASAs New Frontiers Program, which is handled at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the agencys Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver constructed and runs the spacecraft.