Particle.news
Download on the App Store
5 ARTICLES
·
last yr.

NASA's Juno Prepares for Close Flyby of Jupiter's Moon Io

The spacecraft is set to generate a wealth of data from the volcanic moon, with a second close flyby scheduled for February 2024.

This image revealing the north polar region of the Jovian moon Io was taken on June 15 by NASA’s Juno. Three of the mountain peaks visible in the upper part of image, near the day-night dividing line, were observed here for the first time by the spacecraft’s JunoCam.
Image

Overview

  • NASA's Juno spacecraft is set to make a close flyby of Jupiter's moon Io on December 30, coming within roughly 930 miles of the surface.
  • The flyby is expected to generate a wealth of data, with Juno's instruments studying Io's volcanic activity and the flow of charged particles in Jupiter's magnetosphere.
  • A second ultra-close flyby of Io is scheduled for February 3, 2024, with Juno again coming within about 930 miles of the surface.
  • All three cameras aboard Juno will be active during the Io flyby, collecting heat signatures from volcanoes, obtaining the highest-resolution image of the surface to date, and taking visible-light color images.
  • Juno's trajectory has been adjusted to add seven new distant Io flybys to the extended mission plan, with each orbit growing progressively more distant.