NASA’s Juno space research station will make the closest approach to Io, one of Jupiter’s moons, since its mission began in 2011. It was reported that the event will take place on December 30 Web site NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
Juno will fly 1.5 thousand kilometers from the volcanic surface of Io. This will allow the spacecraft’s cameras to examine the moon’s surface in detail.
The NASA station reached the Jupiter system in 2016, having traveled 2.8 billion kilometers. Over the past eight years, the probe has orbited the gas giant 56 times.
Io is considered the most volcanically active body in the solar system. The moon is dotted with hundreds of exploding vents that shoot dozens of kilometers of lava into the thin atmosphere. According to scientists, this is due to the influence of Jupiter itself and three other moons of the gas giant: Ganymede, Callisto and Europa.
Celestial bodies produce strong tidal forces that cause Io’s surface to rise and break free by as much as 100 meters, preventing volcanoes from extinguishing.
With Juno’s help, planetary scientists hope to find out whether Io has an ocean of liquid magma beneath its crust. During closest approach, the probe will activate all of its cameras to collect temperature information and determine the location of volcanoes and space photography.
Juno’s mission will last until 2025, after which the probe will disappear in Jupiter’s atmosphere forever.
Planetary scientists before in the name The most extraordinary space missions of 2024.
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Source: Gazeta
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