NASA’s Juno spacecraft has taken the closest images of Jupiter’s moon Europa in more than two decades
NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill
. On 29 September, it flew just 352 kilometres above the surface of the icy moon, only the third time any spacecraft has been within 500 kilometres of it. The images fromAt the time of the flyby, Juno was travelling at nearly 24 kilometres per second, so it only had a two-hour window to collect detailed data before it sailed away again. In that time, it took pictures and collected data on the moon’s surface composition, interior structure and its interaction with the magnetic field of Jupiter.
. “The JunoCam images will fill in the current geologic map, replacing existing low-resolution coverage of the area.”This new data will help researchers prepare for the Europa Clipper mission, which is set to launch in 2024 in an effort to determine whether the frigid moon could host life beneath its icy shell.
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