NASA’s Jupiter Observation Spacecraft just got a rare close-up of an icy world.
the June probe made the closest step in 22 years of Jupiterthe frozen moon Europe on Thursday (September 29), providing the best view of the ocean world since NASA galilean spaceship flew for her 2000.
Gliding just 219 miles (352 kilometers) above Europa’s surface, the two-hour flyby was one of the three closest glimpses ever seen of the icy world. The last similar view we received was on January 1st. 3, 2000 with Galileo, officials with POTJet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in southern California, said in a statement.
“Rugged terrain features are easily seen, including tall blocks that cast shadows, while bright and dark ridges and valleys curve along the surface. The oblong pit near the terminator could be a weathered impact crater “, JPL officials said. wrote about Juno flyby footage (opens in a new tab) on Thursday (September 29).
video: NASA Reveals Most Amazing View of Jupiter’s Moon Europa
While geological data from the flyby is just beginning to trickle in, officials called Juno’s odd look key to establishing observations for NASA’s next flyby. Clippers Europe mission, to be launched in just two years to study the icy moon.
“Europa Clipper will study the moon’s atmosphere, surface, and interior, with the primary scientific goal of determining whether there are places below Europa’s surface that could support life,” JPL said of the mission, which is scheduled to arrive. to the Jupiter system in 2030.
Image a of two
As the sixth largest moon in the Solar systemEurope is similar in size to Landbut it has a very different formation and evolutionary history. Europa has a huge icy crust covering an ocean that researchers believe may support Earth-like life.
During its flyby, Juno collected some of the highest resolution images of the moon ever seen at 0.6 miles or 1 km per pixel, JPL said, along with information about the environment, atmosphere, surface and structure. inside of the moon
In pictures: Chaos Reigns in Detailed Views of Jupiter’s Icy Moon Europa
“The science team … will be looking to see if Europa’s surface features have changed over the past two decades,” said Candy Hansen, a Juno co-investigator who leads planning for JunoCam (which obtained the images) at the Institute of Sciences. planetary. in Tucson, Arizona.
Data from Juno’s microwave radiometer instrument could be especially important for future missions like Clipper, as it may help identify some potentially habitable “pockets” of liquid water just below the massive ice sheet.
Scientists used the flyby to change Juno’s trajectory slightly, as it is now scheduled to make a single orbit of Jupiter in 38 Earth days (compared to 43 days previously). me they are expected in 2023 and 2024, if the mission can continue to survive the intense radiation belts near Jupiter.
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