NASA’s Juno probe collects extensive data about Jupiter’s Moon Ganymede.

NASA’s Juno spacecraft recently conducted a flyby of Ganymede, the largest moon in the solar system, providing us with the closest and most detailed images of the moon since the Galileo orbiter’s visit over 20 years ago. The flyby occurred on March 8, 2014, and marked the closest approach any spacecraft has made to Ganymede in a generation.

Scott Bolton, the Juno principal investigator at the Southwest Research Institute, expressed excitement about the encounter, stating that Ganymede is the only moon in the solar system larger than the planet Mercury. The spacecraft flew within approximately 645 miles of the moon, capturing high-resolution views of its surface.

Ganymede, believed to have a subsurface sea beneath its icy crust, displayed light and dark regions on its ice shell, suggesting variations in composition and structure. Juno’s mission includes investigating these variations and gaining a better understanding of the moon’s ice shell formation and the processes that resurface it over time.

Juno, launched in 2011, initially focused on studying Jupiter’s deep interior, atmosphere, magnetic field, and aurorae. However, the mission has been extended multiple times due to its success, and NASA approved another extension running until mid-2025. The spacecraft has already made significant contributions to our understanding of Jupiter’s polar regions, storms, core, and overall behavior.

Juno’s trajectory has been carefully planned to gradually move its point of closest approach northward as the mission progresses. This extension provided an opportunity for close flybys of Ganymede, Europa, and Io. The encounter with Ganymede used the moon’s gravity to slightly alter Juno’s trajectory, reducing its orbital period by about 10 days. Subsequent flybys of Europa and Io are scheduled for September 2022 and December 2023/February 2024, respectively.

These close flybys of Jupiter’s moons will allow scientists to point Juno’s instruments at the satellites, conducting close-up analysis and comparing the current findings with the data collected during the Galileo and Voyager missions. The wealth of information obtained from these flybys contributes to our understanding of Jupiter’s moons and their dynamic environments.

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