NASA's remote spacecraft Juno , orbiting Jupiter hundreds of millions of miles away, has been gradually approaching Io, Jupiter's moon with the most active volcanoes in our solar system. Juno recently completed its 55th orbit around Jupiter, passing just 7,300 miles (11,700 kilometers) from Io's surface.
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NASA's Juno spacecraft captured these images on October 15 and beamed them back to Earth the next day. These images are being processed by professional and amateur image processors, some of whom work for NASA or related space exploration programs.
The images are some of the most detailed views of the satellite ever recorded, showing dark streams suggesting lava flows, volcanoes erupting from the moon , and what could be a volcanic cloud rising into space.
The spacecraft will approach even closer, making its closest approach to Io in December and again in January 2024.
Scott Bolton, the principal investigator for NASA's Juno mission, expressed earlier this year that they are steadily moving towards their destination.
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Volcanic eruptions are a daily occurrence on Io . “ It’s not just that the largest planet in the solar system exerts a constant gravitational pull on it, but also Europa and Ganymede ,” NASA explained in a statement. “ The result is that Io is constantly being compressed, which is related to the formation of lava that erupts from its many volcanoes. Io, while very interesting, is certainly not a place suitable for life. However, other nearby moons may be. “
In the coming years, we will learn much more about the moon Europa, a planet that planetary scientists say hides a salty ocean beneath its thick, icy crust. According to NASA, “ Europa may be the most promising place in our solar system to find environments suitable for some form of life beyond Earth.”
In 2024, NASA will launch the long-awaited Europa Clipper spacecraft toward Jupiter, where the robotic craft will make repeated approaches to the moon.
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“NASA's Europa Clipper mission will conduct a detailed reconnaissance of Jupiter's moon Europa and investigate whether the icy moon could host conditions suitable for life, according to the space agency.“
Source: mashable
