![]() ![]() The 5 big questions JUICE aims to answer are shown in the infographic below. The JUICE mission will also give us an insight into how Jupiter’s atmosphere works, as well as further our knowledge of how Jupiter got its rings and its smaller moons. Although JUICE will not make any close flybys of Io, the mission will measure how Io’s volcanic activity affects Jupiter and the other Galilean moons. Roughly 1000kg of volcanic material is ejected every second by Io into the space environment around Jupiter. Instead, it has hundreds of active volcanoes and lakes of lava on its surface. Unlike Ganymede, Europa and Callisto, Io does not have ice or liquid water. The fourth and final Galilean Moon is Io. These three moons are described as icy moons which have icy crusts and potentially seas of liquid water below the ground. Therefore, studying it will give us a glimpse at what the Jovian system was like when it was forming. Meanwhile, Callisto is thought to have the oldest surface in the Solar System that has not been renewed since it was formed. If there is life elsewhere in the Solar System then one of the most likely places to find it is Europa. Ganymede is unlike any other moon in our astronomical neighbourhood – it is larger than Mercury, generates its own magnetic field, and has aurorae that work in a similar way to the Earth’s. Its main purpose is to confirm whether these moons have seas of liquid water below their icy surfaces and whether they might have the conditions for life. JUICE (JUpiter ICy moons Explorer) is a mission led by the European Space Agency (ESA) that will explore Jupiter and its three large icy moons, Ganymede, Europa and Callisto, over the course of four years. In between working the two roles I’ve had in the Education Team at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, I completed a PhD to study Jupiter’s X-ray aurorae. What is the JUICE mission and why is it going to Jupiter?įull disclosure – I am fascinated by Jupiter and the wider Jovian system. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |