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While the eyes of the world were focused on what happened with the NASA DART mission or with the news related to the possible extension of the operational life of the Hubble Space Telescope, there is another important news related to the NASA Juno mission which is in orbit around Jupiter. In the past few hours some images have been received (and others will come) of a close passage of the Jupiter satellite Europe.
This moon is one of the most interesting when it comes to searching extraterrestrial life as its structure, with a rocky core surrounded by an ocean of salt water and a thick crust of ice, could be the right combination for the development of microorganisms and complex structures. Although the most interesting photographs have yet to be downloaded, the first images begin to portend something very interesting to understand the external ice structure.
Europe it is so interesting that in 2024 the Europa Clipper mission should be launched (the arrival date is expected in 2030). This will focus on the moon and in particular on the atmosphere, surface and the interior with dedicated instruments. In this way, new data can be added regarding the structure of the ice, the underlying ocean and the plumes of water that are produced and dispersed in space.
NASA Juno and the new images of the Jupiter satellite Europa
According to as reportedaround 11:36 am yesterday (Italian time) the space probe, launched on 5 August 2011, managed to make a close pass from the surface of Europe at a minimum of just 352 kilometers. As reported by NASA, this is the third close passage below 500 kilometers and you have to go back up to January 2000, to find one at lower altitudes (but in that case the mission was Galileo and it arrived 351 kilometers from the surface).
Click on the image to enlarge
NASA Juno used the tool JunoCam with the first image discharged (and visible above) which took up the area known as Annwn Regio (near the equator). The surface structure, unlike that of our Moon, has almost no impact craters and this is due to a continuous remodeling of the ice due to the forces exerted by Jupiter (as well as a possible lower presence of impacts in general).
The spacecraft took about two hours to collect the images and the data in its close passage of Europe also because of the speed which was equal to 23.6 km / s. Always according to the initial information, we know that photographs were taken with a resolution of 1 km / pixel (among the most defined ever).
Thanks to the new images it will be possible to make a comparison with the previous ones and understand how the surface has changed over the years and thus understand the mechanisms that shape it. In addition to photographs, it was also used Microwave Radiometer instrument (MWR) which will help to understand what is hidden under the surface ice with possible pockets of shallow water. On the official website there are other images, including some elaborate by scientists (and common users).
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